About
W. Keith Robinson is a Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School of Law, where he also serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and as Faculty Director for Intellectual Property, Technology, Business, and Innovation. His research and teaching center on patent law, artificial intelligence, and the questions that emerging technologies raise for established legal frameworks.
A patent attorney before entering the academy, Robinson practiced at Foley & Lardner LLP in Washington, D.C., where he counseled clients on strategic intellectual property matters and prosecuted patents in software and electrical engineering technologies. He brings an engineer's training to his scholarship, holding a B.S.E. from Duke University's School of Engineering and a J.D., cum laude, from Duke University School of Law. His recent work examines accountability, responsibility, and transparency in AI-assisted invention, and access to the patent system.
Robinson is the author of Acing Intellectual Property (West Academic) and a co-author of Property Law: Cases, Materials, and Questions (Carolina Academic Press), and he is joining the author team of a leading intellectual property casebook. He speaks regularly to academic, professional, and industry audiences, and his commentary on AI and patents has appeared in outlets including The Conversation, Politico, and PatentlyO.
Research
Robinson's scholarship focuses on patents, artificial intelligence, and access to the innovation system. A selection appears below. For the complete list of publications, please see the curriculum vitae (PDF).
Books
- Acing Intellectual Property: A Checklist Approach to Solving Intellectual Property Problems (2d ed., West Academic 2024).
- Edward E. Chase, Jr., Julia Patterson Forrester & W. Keith Robinson, Property Law: Cases, Materials, and Questions (3d ed., Carolina Academic Press 2023).
Selected Articles and Chapters
- Inventorship as Accountability, Geo. Wash. U. J.L. & Tech. (forthcoming 2026).
- Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency in AI Patents, in Inclusive Innovation in the Age of AI and Big Data (Oxford Univ. Press 2026).
- Enabling Artificial Intelligence, 60 Hous. L. Rev. 331 (2022).
- Artificial Intelligence and Access to the Patent System, 21 Nev. L.J. 729 (2021).
- Only a Pawn in the Game: Rethinking Induced Patent Infringement, 32 Santa Clara High Tech. L.J. 1 (2015–2016).
- No "Direction" Home: An Alternative Approach to Joint Infringement, 62 Am. U. L. Rev. 59 (2012).
Teaching
Robinson teaches across property and intellectual property, with courses that connect doctrine to technology and practice:
Property Law · Patent Law · Intellectual Property Law · Selected Topics in Intellectual Property: IP and Business Organizations · Designing Legal Applications.
He is joining the author team of Intellectual Property: Cases and Materials (West Academic) for its seventh edition, contributing the trade secret and patent chapters, and he is the author of course texts in intellectual property and property law.
Speaking & Media
Robinson is a frequent speaker and commentator on artificial intelligence, patents, and innovation policy. Selected recent engagements and press appear below; the CV lists the complete record.
Selected Talks
- "AI and Legal Education," Panelist, AI, Law, and Regulation in the Americas, hosted by Duke University School of Law (2026).
- "Inventorship as Accountability," JOLT Symposium, The George Washington University Law School (2026).
- Keynote, "Governing the Future: How Artificial Intelligence Will Reshape Law, Society, and Responsibility," Creighton Law Review Symposium (2025).
- "Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency in AI Patents," Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts Symposium, University of Washington School of Law (2025).
Selected Media
- When Humans Use AI to Earn Patents, Who Is Doing the Inventing?, The Conversation (2025).
- "Robot Umpires, AI Judges, and the Strike Zone of Justice," Deacs.AI Podcast, Wake Forest University (2026).
- How We Can Bridge the Innovation Gap, PatentlyO (2023).
- The Great White House Merch War, Politico (2022).
Writing
brkthru is Robinson's plain-language newsletter on emerging technology law, written for law students and new lawyers. It follows developments in patents, artificial intelligence, and the future of work, and translates them into accessible commentary. Subscribe to brkthru.
Contact
- robinswk@wfu.edu
- Profiles
- SSRN · Google Scholar · ORCID · LinkedIn
- Office
- Wake Forest University School of Law, Winston-Salem, NC