6 Key Takeaways | A Trademark Practitioner’s Guide to Using AI: Guidelines, Use Cases, and Ethical Considerations | Kilpatrick
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/6-key-takeaways-a-trademark-4489165/
Publish Date: 2026-03-11 15:51:00
Source Domain: www.jdsupra.com
Kilpatrick’s Betsy Bengtson, Darin Brown, and Andrea LaFrance recently presented “A Trademark Practitioner’s Guide to Using AI: Guidelines, Use Cases, and Ethical Considerations” during the firm’s annual “SKI-LE” in Breckenridge, Colorado. Betsy, Darin, and Andrea discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the practice of law and offered attorneys powerful tools to increase efficiency, accuracy, and client value. However, they pointed out that integrating AI into legal workflows requires a nuanced understanding of ethical obligations, internal protocols, and potential risks. The session provided trademark practitioners with comprehensive and practical guidance on responsibly utilizing AI throughout the trademark lifecycle.
Key takeaways from the presentation include:
1. Fair Use in the AI Trenches: Market Harm Matters for AI Inputs: Courts are scrutinizing whether AI model training on copyrighted or trademarked content constitutes fair use, with a growing emphasis on whether the use is transformative and whether rightsholders can show real market harm. Recent cases demonstrate that use of pirated materials or direct commercial substitution weighs heavily against fair use, making the source of training data and evidence of market impact critical to litigation outcomes.
2. AI Outputs: New Frontiers for Infringement Liability: AI-generated outputs can expose developers and platforms to direct and contributory infringement risk. Courts have allowed claims to proceed where end users create infringing content, and the platform knowingly enables or materially contributes to that conduct.
3. Generative AI: Dilution, Confusion, and Trademark Turbulence: Generative AI can inadvertently produce content that confuses consumers, dilutes famous marks, or creates misleading attributions. Courts have allowed dilution, false endorsement, and trade dress claims to proceed, and are considering whether AI-generated articles or images can…
