Anaqua Experience Conference 2026: Why This Year’s Conference Is One You Won’t Want to Miss

As the IP industry navigates one of the most significant periods of change in its history, the 2026 Anaqua Experience Conference (AEC) will bring together clients, industry leaders, innovators, and IP professionals for three days focused on one central theme: Maximizing Today. Transforming Tomorrow.

With topics ranging from AI and automation to strategic risk management and the future of IP operations, the AEC 2026 conference is designed to help clients maximize their value today from Anaqua’s IP management platform AQX while exploring the technologies, operating models, and innovations that will shape the future of our profession.

Why attend AEC 2026?

The environment in which IP professionals operate is very different than it was even a year or two ago. AI innovation is rapidly changing the IP industry, and business leaders are grappling with an increasingly complex operational environment. AEC 2026 unites the Anaqua community to navigate this shift and address the challenges teams are currently facing.

The conference agenda is designed to help you:

• Increase your skills through hands-on training and expert-led sessions covering real-world best practices.
• Grow your network by connecting with peers, joining roundtable discussions, exchanging practical insights and building relationships that last beyond the conference.
• See what's next for AI in IP with exclusive access to the Innovation Hall and the latest platform roadmap updates.

This year's agenda offers an exciting mix of visionary keynotes, product innovation demonstrations, peer-to-peer learning, hands-on training, and direct access to the experts who are building the future of Anaqua, whether you’re an IP executive, patent attorney, paralegal, operations leader, or innovation professional.

Plenary Sessions: Insights from Anaqua’s Leaders

Anaqua CEO Justin Crotty will open the conference with remarks discussing the forces reshaping the IP industry, including AI, automation, changing business expectations, and the growing strategic importance of intellectual property. He will also share Anaqua’s vision for helping clients navigate this period of transformation.

“AEC has always been about more than product innovation. It is where IP leaders come together to exchange ideas, learn from one another, and discuss the forces shaping the future of our industry.”- Justin Crotty, CEO

Following the opening remarks, attendees will hear from Anaqua Chief Product Officer Toni Nijm and Chief Technology Officer Eldon Richards during the Product & Technology plenary session. Toni and Eldon will share Anaqua’s vision for an operating model that is more connected and intelligent and is powered by AI across the full IP lifecycle.

“Our focus is not on adding more tools. It’s on building a connected operating system where data, workflows, and intelligence come together to support better decisions across the entire IP lifecycle.” - Toni Nijm, Chief Product Officer

Clients will also hear how Anaqua is evolving from a system of record to a platform designed to help organizations drive better outcomes, automate routine work, and prepare for an AI-enabled future.

Get an Early Look at What’s Next: Anaqua’s Platform Roadmap

One of the highlights of the Innovation Lab is Smart Invention, Anaqua's new AI-first invention management capability. Attendees of AEC 2026 will receive an early preview of how the AQX platform is designed to support workflows for capturing, drafting, routing, and reviewing inventions, while improving the quality of disclosures and collaboration across organizations.

Clients will also get a preview of the latest AQX 11.5 release and AI-powered docketing capabilities, offering a glimpse of the innovations that will shape the future of IP management.

Keynotes You Won’t Want to Miss: Jason Synder and Christof Wolpert

Two of the most highly anticipated moments of AEC 2026 will be the keynote presentations by Jason Snyder and Christof Wolpert.

Jaspn Snyder is the Co-Founder and chief AI officer of Artists & Robots, a creative intelligence studio in New York, as well as the Co-Founder of SuperTruth, a healthcare data verification platform. His keynote, “The Human Layer: The Future of Innovation in the Age of AI,” will address a critical question facing organizations today: As AI becomes embedded in knowledge work, innovation, and decision-making, what will remain uniquely human?

He will encourage attendees to think about their role in the future of innovation, trust, expertise, authorship, and judgement in an AI-powered world. For IP professionals, those questions have never been more relevant.

As AI becomes part of everyday work, organizations face a challenge that technology alone cannot solve—helping people adapt. Christof Wolpert, adidas's Vice President of Global Legal Product Creation, will lead a keynote on this important topic: "From Skeptics to Champions: Leading IP Teams Through AI Transformation.” He will discuss how leaders can guide their organizations through fear and blind adoption, fostering a culture of curiosity, critical thinking, and responsible innovation to unlock the full potential of AI.

Client Sessions: Hear Directly from Your Peers

One of the most valuable aspects of AEC is the opportunity to hear directly from the organizations tackling today's IP challenges at scale.

This year’s agenda includes client-led sessions built around lessons learned and real-world experiences from executive-level speakers. Featured client sessions include the following:

• Amazon – AI in IP Operations: What AI Can (and Can't) Do — Built on the Tools You Already Have.
  Learn how Amazon's IP team is leveraging AI, APIs, and MCP to review invention disclosures, analyze portfolios, and drive smarter decision-making.
• adidas – Simplifying Data & Workflows with Workspaces Discover how adidas is using Workspaces to improve collaboration, streamline information management, and simplify day-to-day IP operations.
• Meiji Co., Ltd. – The IP Mix That Drives Value: Lessons from Meiji’s Approach to Intellectual Property
  Hear how Meiji creates competitive advantage through a strategic mix of trademarks, trade secrets, know-how, designs, data, and patents.
• Mondelēz International – Work Smarter, Not Harder: How Mondelēz Uses Workflow Automation to Simplify IP Operations. See how workflow automation and business process workflows help Mondelēz reduce manual effort and improve operational efficiency.
• ITT – The HyperView Triad: Data Integrity, Meaningful Metrics, and Business Intelligence Decisions with HyperView. Learn how ITT uses HyperView to improve reporting, portfolio visibility, and executive decision-making.
• Pinsent Masons – Defending Brand Reputation in the AI Era: Turning IP Intelligence into Action. AI is accelerating the growth of counterfeit products, fraudulent websites, unauthorized domains, and brand misuse. This session explores how leading organizations are moving from reactive enforcement to proactive brand protection.

The Anaqua Innovation Hall

If there is one experience attendees consistently look forward to, it’s the Innovation Hall. This year, Anaqua is creating two distinct experiences:

• Maximizing Today: focused on helping clients maximize value from products and capabilities available today.
• Transforming Tomorrow: focused on upcoming innovations, future product direction, and early previews of what’s next.
• Smart Invention
• AI-Powered Docketing
• Seamless Document Editing
• New AI capabilities spanning the IP lifecycle
• Connected platform innovations and integrations

The Innovation Hall is designed to do more than demonstrate features. It gives clients direct access to the people shaping product strategy and development while providing an opportunity to influence the future direction of the platform.

The following are some of the innovations that will be showcased at AEC 2026:

Bringing Together the IP Community in Orlando

AEC 2026 is more than a conference. It’s where the Anaqua community comes together to learn, connect, challenge assumptions, and explore what’s next for the IP profession.

As CEO Justin Crotty highlighted, “AEC is one of my favorite times of the year because it brings together the IP community shaping the future of innovation and intellectual property.”

Whether you're looking to hear how leading organizations are evolving their IP operations, explore Anaqua's product roadmap, or connect with fellow IP professionals, AEC 2026 offers valuable insights for every member of the IP community and will highlight the defining next chapter in IP management.

If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time to join us register here.