Finnegan launches comprehensive AI practice

September 9, 2025 – WASHINGTON, DC – Finnegan, a premier intellectual property law firm, is pleased to announce the launch of its dedicated Artificial Intelligence (AI) practice—AI + Finnegan. While the firm has been advising on the nexus of AI and intellectual property since 2018, this formalized offering leverages Finnegan’s deep bench of engineers, scientists, a multidisciplinary team of attorneys, and legal professionals to deliver comprehensive, coordinated AI counsel across all industries in this rapidly evolving space.

AI + Finnegan spans the full spectrum of legal issues facing innovators today, including patent strategy, copyright and generative AI, data privacy and governance, trade secret protection, licensing, commercialization, and litigation. The team combines technical fluency in AI technologies with decades of legal experience, enabling Finnegan to guide clients through complex challenges and emerging risks.

Frank DeCosta and Karthik Kumar serve as co-leaders of the practice and bring extensive experience managing AI patent portfolios for high-tech global companies. “We understand that AI innovation is complex and cross-disciplinary,” said Frank, whose Ph.D. research was in neural network-based AI algorithms. “Our team combines deep legal experience across the AI lifecycle with strong technical backgrounds in science and engineering. This allows us to tailor our approach to the needs of each client, whether they’re building algorithms, training models, or deploying intelligent systems.” Karthik added, “We also leverage our litigation experience across US courts and agencies, including the International Trade Commission, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the US Supreme Court, as well as in the UK and Germany. Not only do we understand the technical nuances of AI, we also bring a deep bench of trial and appellate expertise to every case.”

On the patent side, Frank, Karthik, and Aaron Capron lead the AI + Patent team. This team drafts and prosecutes patents covering cutting-edge algorithms, intelligent systems, and machine learning applications, ensuring innovations are protected and positioned for long-term value. Central to this portfolio development work is a triage process that helps clients leverage both patent and trade secret protection where appropriate to protect IP assets. This team not only supports clients with their value capture/creation objectives, but it also works with clients on risk identification and mitigation in the AI space, including working with clients to license and enforce AI IP rights and defending clients against AI IP claims.

The AI + Copyright team, led by Anna Chauvet, former associate general counsel at the U.S. Copyright Office, delivers practical guidance on managing legal risks when developing AI-powered solutions, fair use considerations, licensing, and open-source compliance. The team actively shapes policy in this rapidly evolving space and helps clients protect and register AI-generated content.

With Lynn Parker Dupree at the helm, Finnegan’s AI + Privacy team helps clients build governance frameworks that align with global privacy laws and emerging AI regulations to support responsible AI development and deployment. Lynn taps her experience as chief privacy officer for the Department of Homeland Security as well as her privacy sector and governance experience in leading the practice and offering holistic counsel on privacy compliance, data governance, AI risk management, and regulatory investigations, ensuring that AI strategies are innovative, responsible, and resilient.

Erik Puknys manages the firm’s Silicon Valley office and leads the AI + Trade Secrets team, offering clients flexible, cost-effective protection for proprietary models, training data, and algorithms. The team advises security practices, non-disclosure agreements, and employee training to safeguard confidential information and reduce the risk of misappropriation. Finnegan’s dual capabilities in patent law and trade secret law enable the firm to align protection strategies with business goals.

In addition to the practice offerings, the firm shares a library of thought leadership through several dedicated AI Resource Centers, which can be accessed here:

• AI + Finnegan Resource Center
• AI + Patent Resource Center
• AI + Copyright Resource Center
• AI + Privacy Resource Center
• AI + Trade Secrets Resource Center

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