Agatha H. Liu, Ph.D. practices in the area of intellectual property law, focusing her practice on IP analysis, portfolio management and strategic counseling. She routinely advises investors, business owners, and technologists on all aspects of IP related to computers and the Internet, ranging from enterprise software development to online data privacy. She also speaks and writes extensively on different IP topics, such as eligibility for IP protection, the value of IP associated with emerging technology, and global IP management.
Prior to entering the legal profession, Dr. Liu held positions in technology and management consulting. She has a significant research background in artificial intelligence as applied to internet communications, database system management, computational biology and speech recognition.
Areas of Practice
- Patents
- Intellectual Property Litigation
- Technology Transactions, Licensing and Commercial Contracts
- Trademark, Copyright, Entertainment and Advertising
- Privacy and Data Protection
Admissions
- California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Education
- Fordham University School of Law, J.D.
- University of Washington, Ph.D., Computer Science and Engineering
- Columbia University, B.S.
Experience
- Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2023-present - Hickman Becker Bingham Ledesma LLP
- Partner/Counsel, 2017-2023
Professional Activities
- International Association of Privacy Professionals
- CIPP/US Certification - California Lawyers Association
- Intellectual Property Section
- Executive Committee American Intellectual Property Law Association
Asian Pacific American Bar Association Silicon Valley
- Licensing Executives Society—Silicon Valley
- Santa Clara University
- Bronco Venture Accelerator and Entrepreneurs’ Legal Advising Clinic
Selected Publications
- Contributor, Duane Morris Artificial Intelligence Blog
- Author, "Mitigating AI Bias with Responsible AI Design," California Lawyers Association New Matter, Fall 2023, Volume 48, Edition 3
- Co-author, "Safeguarding Companies' Online Data in the AI Era: Evolving Technology and Legal Protection," Westlaw Today, August 29, 2023
- Author, "And the Copyright Registration Goes to… the AI Algorithm or the Machine?" Duane Morris Tech Law Blog, August 29, 2023
- Author, "Can a Human Behind AI Be Creative?" Duane Morris Artificial Intelligence Blog, August 29, 2023
- Quoted, “AI Art Copyright Ruling Invites Future Battles Over Human Inputs,” Bloomberg Law, August 24, 2023
- Author, "Protecting Your Company’s Online Data," Duane Morris Artificial Intelligence Blog, June 6, 2023
- Author, "Can a Machine Be Creative?" Duane Morris Artificial Intelligence Blog, April 17, 2023
Author, “Get Ready for the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court in Europe!” August 3, 2022
Author, “Major Changes Are Coming to the European Patent Process, and You Need to Review Your Patent Strategy Now!” April 1, 2022
Author, “The Funny Things about Computer Algorithms, #1,” February 18, 2022
Author, “The FTC Needs to Slow Down in Pursuing Consumer Redress for Privacy Breach and Other Harmful Acts,” September 9, 2021
Co-author, “Spinning the Idea that “Spinning” is Genericized,” May 28, 2021
Co-author, “Did You Know that You May Apply for Global Protection of Your Design through A Single System?” May 7, 2021
Co-author, “Shoes and Music – NFT Part II,” April 26, 2021
Co-author, “Celebrities and Creative Geniuses Rejoice – NFTs Part I,” April 13, 2021
Co-author, “Here is to Renewed Optimism for Aggrieved Artists!” April 2, 2021
Co-author, “More Trademark-Related Relief Will Soon Be Available to Combat Bad Registrations or Infringement,” March 12, 2021
Co-author, “Did You Know That Blockchains Can Help You, Too?” March 5, 2021
Co-author, “More Covid-19 Relief Is Now Available Regarding Perfecting Foreign Priority Claims,” February 19, 2021
Co-author, “California Leads the Way to Transform Consumer Privacy Protection in the U.S. – California Privacy Rights Act of 2020,” December 21, 2020
Co-author, “Remembering the Notorious Justice Ginsburg,” October 20, 2020
Author, “Developing a Global Patent Portfolio,” September 28, 2020
Author, “Do I Have A Patentable Technology in Artificial Intelligence?” December 31, 2019
Author, “Federal Circuit Finds 'Improving Conventional Techniques and Generated New and Useful Data’ Patent Eligibility Tests,” December 29, 2018
Author, “Supreme Court Holds Computerization of Abstract Ideas Not Patent-Eligible,” December 31, 2014
Author, “Akamai Technologies v. Limelight Networks and McKesson Technologies v. Epic Systems: Federal Circuit Changes the Law of Active Inducement,” December 31, 2012
Author, “U.S. High Court Limits Patents Based on the Laws of Nature,” July 11th, 2012
Author, “Third-Party Opposition of Patent Issuance,” July 1st, 2011
Selected Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, “Get Smart with AI: Strategic Contracting to Reduce Risk,” Duane Morris Webinar, November 15, 2023
- Moderator, “Where Our AI Policy is Headed – A Discussion with the Copyright Office and the Patent and Trademark Office,” California Lawyers Association, Webinar, October 26, 2023
- Panelist, "Understanding and Navigating Bias in Artificial Intelligence," Duane Morris 2023 George Boyer Vashon Lecture, May 19, 2023
- Participant and Mentor, ChIPs Mock Pitch Program on Generative AI , May 18, 2023
- Speaker, “Filing Strategies in Light of EU Unitary System,” Berkeley-Stanford Advanced Patent Law Institute - 23rd Annual Event, December 8th, 2022
Speaker, “Strategic Global Protection of Your Inventions,” AIPLA Webinar, August 11, 2021
Speaker, “Better Leveraging Companies' Intellectual Property for Maximum Business Growth,” Bay Area CHIZAI's 33rd Seminar, June 25, 2021
Speaker, “The Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property: Hot Buttons in 2020,” The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series., July 8, 2020
Speaker, “Machine Learning Patents,” High Tech Law Journal and Journal of International Law Machine Learning Symposium, Santa Clara University, San Jose, California, April 12, 2020
Speaker, “Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property: What Are the Prospects?” International Intellectual Property Law Association (IIPLA) 3rd Annual Meeting, San Francisco, December 31, 2018
Speaker, “Artificial Intelligence and the Patent Law – Promises and Perils,” The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, December 30, 2018
Representative Matters
Assisted a software company in developing their patent portfolio that optimizes and secures operations of complex industrial systems with innovative machine learning.
Represented the patent portfolio of an an AI-based enterprise SaaS platform deigned to predict and automate repetitive computer tasks.
Represented a patent portfolio for an international company using machine learning to empower a skill-based labor market.
Counseled a company offering AI-powered solutions to the education sector on intellectual property matters, including designs, trademarks, and due diligence.
Assisted companies in an AI incubator with developing patent portfolios for supply chain and IT infrastructure sectors.
Assisted a global audio technology company in protecting deep-learning based technology for speech enhancement and noise reduction.
Counseled a cloud-based spend management platform on acquisition of technology companies and IP portfolios.
Counseled an online collaboration platform on global trademark protection involving various trademark proceedings.
- Represented a global data analytics company in their patent portfolio for data integration, transformation and security in distributed database management systems.
Represented a digital agriculture company with their global patent portfolio covering advanced machine analysis of nature and agriculture data.
- Assisted with IP evaluation and due diligence for an investment firm offering strategic financing to fund emerging technologies and build patent portfolios.