2026 Intellectual Property Summer School Series

Intellectual property touches your business every single day.

Your brand. Your innovations. Your confidential information. Your competitive edge. Most business owners and their advisors understand that IP matters, but navigating the legal landscape around it can feel like a course you never got to take.

This summer, we’re fixing that.

Ward and Smith is pleased to introduce IP Summer School, a free four-part webinar series running May through August 2026. Each 45-minute session is led by members of our nationally recognized IP and IP Litigation practice groups, draws on the firm’s published research and client counsel, and is designed to give you knowledge you can actually use. No prerequisites required.

The Curriculum

Session 1  |  May 28, 2026

Protecting Your Secret Sauce: Trade Secrets in the Modern Workplace

Presented by Gavin Parsons and Taylor Pulliam

Remote work, mobile employees, and digital file sharing have made trade secret protection more urgent and more complicated than ever. We’ll cover what qualifies as a trade secret, how courts are deciding misappropriation cases, and the practical steps that actually hold up when things go wrong.

Session 2  |  June 25, 2026

Patents and AI: What the Future of Innovation Looks Like – Photo 3D Image of Brain, Cloud Computing in Image Library

Presented by Ryan Simmons

Artificial intelligence is changing how patents are researched, drafted, and prosecuted. We’ll walk you through what the USPTO is saying about AI in patent work, how to think strategically about your innovation portfolio, and what questions every business should be asking before the next R&D investment.

Session 3  |  July 30, 2026

Trademark 101: What Every Business Owner Needs to Know

Presented by Art DeBaugh and Erica Rogers

The moment you put a name on a product or a logo on a website, trademark law applies to your business. Two of North Carolina’s most decorated trademark specialists will break down how rights are created, what the most common (and costly) mistakes look like, and how to make sure the brand you’re building is actually yours to keep.

Session 4  |  August 27, 2026

IP Litigation: Protecting Your Brand at Home and Abroad

Presented by Joe Schouten and Payton Bullard

When someone copies your product, poaches your trade secrets, or infringes your trademark, what happens next? Our IP litigators will walk through how enforcement cases are built, what realistic timelines and outcomes look like, and how to think about IP protection as a business strategy rather than a legal emergency.

Why Attend?

Each session is free, delivered via Zoom, and capped at 45 minutes, because we respect your time. You’ll leave every session with specific, actionable guidance relevant to your business or your clients’ businesses. And if you attend the full series, you’ll have a working command of IP law by the time summer is over.