ChIPs to Host International Judges Panel at Annual Global Summit

The ChIPs Global Summit will feature Judges Dr. Annabelle Bennett, MaryJoan McNamara, Beth Labson Freeman and Cathy Ann Bencivengo in dialogue Hon. Kathi Vidal

SAN FRANCISCO , CA, UNITED STATES, September 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Renowned judges Hon. Dr. Annabelle Bennett, Hon. MaryJoan McNamara, Hon. Cathy Ann Bencivengo and Hon. Beth Freeman will speak at the ChIPs Global Summit 2026, on October 23 in Los Angeles, CA. More than 800 ChIPs members are expected to attend the sold-out event at the J.W. Marriott LA LIVE. The panel discussion, “Judgment Calls: Shaping the Future of IP” will be moderated by Winston Taylor Partner and former Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Kathi Vidal.

The panel is part of the ChIPs Global Summit theme for 2026, “The Next Act: IP, Innovation, and Influence,” where panelists will discuss judicial influence and trends in rulings.

“We’ve talked often about AI’s influence on ownership; those conversations are not going away anytime soon, and in fact are becoming more nuanced,” said Joan Toth, ChIPs Executive Director. “Judges are now navigating new waters in their decisions. To hear straight from these legal experts as they weigh existing precedent and a new landscape will be invaluable for our members.”

ChIPs Director of Content, Learning, and DEI Monica Phillips shared similar sentiments. “I hear from ChIPs members all the time that this moment is among the most ambiguous in our legal history. Not only are members maneuvering this evolving environment in the United States, but they’re also maneuvering ever-changing policies across the globe. The international presence for this session is crucial to understanding how AI is affecting policy on a global scale.”

Hon. Dr. Annabelle Bennett is a retired Australian Federal Court judge, lawyer and scientist. She served as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia from 2003 to 2016. She has served as an additional judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territor, as a presidential member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and as President of the Copyright Tribunal as well as an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, including at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics. In April 2016 she became the eighth chancellor of Bond University in Queensland, a role she held for eight years. In 2020, she was appointed as a commissioner on the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2005 and was elevated to Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019, and has been elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and of the Australian Academy of Law.

Judge Mary Joan McNamara has served as an Administrative Law Judge at the US International Trade Commission (USITC) for more than 11 years, beginning in August 2015. In September 2026, Judge McNamara will transition from her role as an Administrative Law Judge to private practice as an independent arbitrator, mediator and advisor specializing in complex, high-stakes, multi-national intellectual property, international trade and commercial disputes. In her judicial role at the USITC, Judge McNamara has handled trade misappropriation (trade theft, patent infringement, occasional trademark) across a wide range of technologies, including Automobile manufacturing, Chemical composition, Computers and Telecommunications (hardware and software), Consumer electronics, LCD TVs and OLED screens, Integrated Circuits, and Aesthetic consumer products, among others. Judge McNamara has overseen cases that involve Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), and FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) licensing. Prior to her USITC appointment, Judge McNamara served 6 years as an Administrative Law Judge at the Social Security Administration.

Judge Beth Labson Freeman is a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of California. She served as deputy county counsel for San Mateo County from 1983 to 2001, then as a judge on the San Mateo County Superior Court from 2001 to 2014, including terms as assistant presiding judge and presiding judge. President Barack Obama nominated her to the federal bench in 2013, and the Senate confirmed her by a 91-7 vote in February 2014. Notable rulings include a December 2020 nationwide injunction blocking a Trump executive order that barred federal contractors from certain diversity training, which she found likely unconstitutional, and a September 2023 ruling that struck down a California online privacy law affecting children as unconstitutional.

Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo is a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of California. She joined a predecessor firm to DLA Piper 1988, where she practiced patent litigation in a variety of technologies and co-chaired the firm’s patent litigation section. In 2005, she was selected to serve as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of California. President Obama nominated her to the district court in May 2011, and the Senate confirmed her by a 90-6 vote in February 2012.

Kathi Vidal is the former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. She is one of the world’s foremost authorities in artificial intelligence and intellectual property law. Recognized by TechCrunch as one of the “remarkable women who’ve contributed to the AI revolution” and by Forbes as one of the top 50 women in innovation, Kathi has been ranked for over a decade in the top less than one-half of one percent of American litigators, was recently listed in the 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors, is a ChIPs Hall of Fame inductee and has been named a Tech Titan by Washingtonian. She is a Partner at Winston Taylor, serving in both the Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley offices, and sits on the firm’s Executive Committee.

About ChIPs

ChIPs is a nonprofit organization representing more than 10,000 members in 30 regional chapters in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa. ChIPs advances and connects women in technology, law and policy. We accelerate innovation through diversity of thought, participation, and engagement. ChIPs is open to all who share its mission.

Olivia Moorer
ChIPs Network
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