ANSI Legal Issues Forum to Examine How AI Is Reshaping Standards Licensing and IP Protection
July 30 program convenes SDO chief executives and senior industry, legal, and policy leaders to address the new commercial realities AI is creating for standards developers
NEW YORK, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will convene legal, technical, and commercial experts at the 2026 ANSI Innovation Summit on Thursday, July 30, for the ANSI Legal Issues Forum: Standards at a Crossroads—AI Policy, Practice, and Protection. The half-day program at the Grand Hyatt Denver will explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming standards licensing and the challenges that standards developing organizations (SDOs) face in protecting their intellectual property while adapting to new commercial realities.
"AI is rapidly changing the commercial realities of standards," said Laurie E. Locascio, Ph.D., NAE, president and CEO of ANSI. "Standards developers are making consequential decisions about how to digitize their content, how to engage with AI platforms and enterprise users, and how to protect their intellectual property in a new kind of licensing landscape. This forum brings the legal, technical, and commercial expertise together to help our community navigate that terrain."
The forum opens with welcome remarks from Patricia A. Griffin, senior vice president and general counsel, ANSI, followed by a keynote address from Elham Tabassi, director of the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative and senior fellow for Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution. A three-part discussion follows.
Panel 1: What SDOs Are Doing examines the range of approaches SDOs are taking to digitizing their standards and enabling—or restricting—AI use. With some organizations prohibiting AI-enabled uses altogether and others actively negotiating AI-related rights and permissions, the conversation will surface the policy frameworks and strategic considerations driving these divergent positions. Moderated by Andrew Updegrove, partner at Gesmer Updegrove LLP, the panel features Christopher Carnahan, assistant vice president of standards at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA); Emilie B. Delo, assistant general counsel and vice president of legal services at SAE International; Andrew G. Kireta Jr., CEO of ASTM International; and Joan O'Neil, chief knowledge officer and executive vice president, content and services, at the International Code Council (ICC).
Panel 2: What Companies, System Integrators, and Enterprise Users Are Building turns to the market side, examining how companies, system integrators, and resellers are coupling digitized standards with AI-enabled platforms—creating new products and commercial opportunities. The discussion will look at what end users are demanding, what builders need from SDOs to make new use cases possible, and the opportunities and risks of enabling or restricting AI access to standards content. Moderated by Daniel Vreeman, chief standards development officer and chief artificial intelligence officer at HL7 International, the panel features Ségolène Dessertine-Panhard, global tech lead for responsible AI and AI governance initiatives with the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, at Amazon Web Services (AWS); Grant Hunter, senior vice president and head of Outsell Intelligence at Outsell; Danny Manimbo, principal at Schellman; and Claude Pumilia, CEO of Accuris.
Panel 3: How SDOs Can Protect Their IP addresses the urgent need for legal frameworks that protect copyright holders' interests while supporting the proper commercial development and deployment of AI-related products. Panelists will discuss practical legal tools for navigating AI licensing negotiations—contract frameworks, protective provisions, and enforcement approaches—that safeguard standards content while enabling commercial distribution. Attendees will leave with clear insights on the key decision points: what terms to demand, how to allocate liability, and when partnerships make sense. Moderated by Miranda Means, partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the panel features Jorge L. Contreras, distinguished university professor, James T. Jensen endowed professor for transactional law and director of the Program on Intellectual Property and Technology Law, at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law; Roy Kaufman, managing director, business development and government relations, at the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC); Austin Mayron, deputy solicitor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); and Rich Spilde, partner at Holland & Hart LLP.
In prior years, ANSI has offered Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits in connection with this program. CLE refers to the ongoing professional education that attorneys must complete following their admission to the bar. Should ANSI be approved again this year, the Institute will issue another announcement and notify all registered participants to date so that they may take advantage of this opportunity as appropriate.
About the 2026 ANSI Innovation Summit
The ANSI Legal Issues Forum: Standards at a Crossroads—AI Policy, Practice, and Protection is one of several events during the 2026 ANSI Innovation Summit (July 28–31), which also includes the tech conference, Accelerating the Digital Economy through AI and Quantum, a fireside chat with standards CEOs, the Standards Lab, ANSI's Annual Business Meeting, the ANSI Awards Ceremony, and the U.S.–Korea Standards Forum. Full program details and registration are available at www.ansi.org/summit.
About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private nonprofit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment system. The Institute's mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership comprises businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
SOURCE American National Standards Institute
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