Matthew Wagner, Arthēa

Thank you for a wonderful Annual Meeting in DC, and welcome to AIPLA ’26 –‘27!

Like Sal Anastasi, Kim Van Voorhis, and every president before them, I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to lead this Association. Sal reminded us all year that AIPLA is “made by you and for you.” He meant it, and he lived it. Under his leadership we listened more closely to our members, tried new formats, and grew stronger as a community. Thank you, Sal.

So what comes next? For me, the answer is predictability.

The people we serve, from inventors and creators to the businesses that invest in them, make long-term decisions. They can make those decisions  with confidence only when the rules are clear, applied consistently, and delivered on a timeline they can plan around. That is true whether the question is what can be protected, what infringes, or what a matter will cost. This year, AIPLA will pursue predictability on three fronts.

In the law. Our advocacy remains our strongest tool. We will keep pressing the courts, Congress, and the agencies for clear and stable standards, with patent eligibility at the top of the list, and for a USPTO with the resources to deliver timely, high-quality examination. Our committees are the engine of that work, and they continue to evolve. Our AI Task Force is now a standing AI Law Committee. The IP Support Specialists group is now a full Committee. And a re-vamped Membership Committee will help make sure AIPLA attracts and serves the full breadth of our profession.

Across borders. Our members’ work and their clients’ products move around the world, so our voice must too. Consistent rules across jurisdictions means predictability on a global scale. This month our delegation travels to China to meet with CNIPA and the China IP Society, and we will continue building relationships in Europe, Japan, and Latin America and beyond. We will also deepen our partnership with AIPPI-US to bring the American perspective to harmonization efforts.

In our practice. Predictability is also something we owe one another. Clients deserve realistic estimates, early warning when things change, and advice framed in terms they can act on. The best outcomes come when in-house counsel, outside counsel, agents, and government practitioners work as one team. AIPLA is one of the few places where all of us sit at the same table, and I want us to make the most of it.

None of this works without you. In 2027, AIPLA turns 130. For 130 years, this Association has been built by members who show up. Join a committee, or a second one. Raise your hand for a comment letter, a program, or a subcommittee, and then follow through. Mentor someone newer to the profession. Join us at the Global IP and Trade Summit in Fort Myers in January and the Spring Meeting in Denver in May.

And tell me how we can do better. If you have an idea for making our IP system more predictable, or for making AIPLA more valuable to you, email me at president@aipla.org. I want to hear it.

Looking forward to a productive ’26 –‘27.

Matt Wagner
President

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Things were looking bleak for the Copyright Law Committee at the 2012 Annual Meeting.

Even though we'd managed to build up committee membership and involvement in the preceding years, and even though we'd drawn truly respectable crowds to our committee meetings, 2012 was a step backward. That year, our meeting had been relegated to a stark-white cranny buried somewhere in the bowels of the (late) Marriott Wardman Park, a room that was incredibly difficult to find. When the meeting was supposed to start, the only people in the room were the Committee Chair and Vice Chair, (Nancy Mertzel and Stefan Mentzer) and me, the Board Liaison. That's no way to run a committee. Or build one. Somebody else eventually showed up, but if memory serves, she was shilling for her contingent-fee lawsuit.

And then this gray-haired kid walked in. That's how I met Matt Wagner.

Matt wasn't discouraged by the paltry turnout. And he didn't freak out when the three of us cornered him and proselytized about the virtues of the AIPLA Copyright Committee. Undaunted by the tag team, he asked a lot of questions and—as I would later learn was standard Matt Wagner operating procedure—really got into it.

And that's the most important thing you need to know about Matt: Whatever he's doing, he really gets into it.

When people ask me how to succeed at AIPLA, I tell them to volunteer to do something and then do it. Matt did it with a vengeance. Within a few months, he was Chair of a Copyright Law subcommittee, and soon after, Vice Chair of the entire Committee. And to be clear—whatever Matt may try to tell you, and whatever that first meeting might suggest, he wasn't chosen simply because he was the only one who volunteered. Matt succeeded because he was genuinely into it.

Once Matt joined the Copyright Committee's senior leadership, the Committee took off. As Chair, with Craig Whitney as his Vice Chair, Matt helped launch all sorts of subcommittees and brought more and more AIPLA members into the Copyright Law Committee, where they got into it just like he did. I remember sitting in a packed conference room at one point, looking over at Nancy Mertzel and—as Nancy put it—kvelling (look it up). The committee we'd fought to resurrect had become a powerhouse, thanks in no small part to Matt's stewardship. And that's why, under Matt and Craig's leadership, the Copyright Law Committee won the Committee of the Year Award in 2017.

Of course, it was no surprise to anyone when Matt was elected to AIPLA's Board of Directors. He left his mark on his fellow Board members and the Association, further establishing himself as a leader. When his Board service ended, Matt didn't rest on his laurels. He dug in on other committees, continuing to look for ways to contribute throughout the organization. Because he's really into AIPLA. So, naturally, it was no surprise when Matt was nominated to the AIPLA Board ladder.

Matt's intensity isn't limited to AIPLA. He's a gourmand; eating and drinking are serious business for him. By way of example, he and I drink martinis. Or what he calls a "martini." (By the way, martinis are made with gin. Vodka martinis are made with vodka. Drinks with chocolate in a chilled glass are chocolate drinks. But I digress. Back to Matt.)

Many years ago, at one of our frequent dinners during an AIPLA event, Matt and I were sitting at a bar waiting for a table, along with Craig and a few others. We ended up holding an impromptu—and very serious—gin tasting. That's also when I discovered Matt's penchant for putting pickled onions in his martini. Matt calls this a martini, but it's really a Gibson. Not to Matt. He'll zealously advocate, claiming that a Gibson has other ingredients. AI and I beg to differ. But this essay is about celebrating Matt, so we'll go with it for now.

Matt's enthusiasm for consumption doesn't end with gin. Although his appearance might suggest otherwise, Matt loves to eat. If there's an extra course to order, Matt will order it. And when he likes something, he lets you know. Hardly a meal goes by without Matt shouting to me some variation of, "Dude, you gotta taste this!"

Of course, Matt can be equally effusive when he doesn't like something. Once, on the way to a meeting with the Copyright Office, Matt told me his stomach was bothering him a bit. I gave him a natural licorice-based acid blocker I happened to have in my backpack. Based on Matt's reaction, you would have thought I'd force-fed him spoiled milk.

You can't talk about Matt without talking about his love of wine. I usually leave the wine selection to Matt, although every once in a while he'll let me pick. He always compliments me on my choice, but I know that deep down—or maybe not so deep—Matt thinks his choice would have been better. And he's probably right.

By the way, Matt also practices law. He more than 20 years in private practice before going in-house in 2018, working across all areas of intellectual property and eventually chairing the IP practice group at his last firm, Diserio Martin O'Connor & Castiglioni, in Stamford CT. His work was so good that one of his clients asked him to become General Counsel of its company, Arthea. Arthea is a multi-national wellness and personal care company with a portfolio of category-leading brands sold in more than 80 countries around the world, so Matt continues to work with intellectual property on a daily basis.

Although Matt grew up on Long Island, he moved to Fairfield, Connecticut, when he married his wife, Candace. He's really into his community, too. In fact, he was elected to the Fairfield Planning and Zoning Commission and eventually served as its chair.

He's also really into golf and sailing. This year, he won Golfer of the Year at his club. He passed his love of golf on to his daughter Charlotte, a junior in college studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, who has blown past all of Matt's accomplishments on the links. She actually won all kinds of tournaments, including the 2021 CT Women's Junior Championship!

Meanwhile, his daughter Alexandra and son Andrew share his love of sailing. Alexandra sailed in college and is currently an associate director of college counseling at an independent PreK–12 school, where she also serves as an assistant sailing coach for the upper school. Andrew grew up sailing , too, and spent three years as a head sailing instructor on Long Island Sound. He is a senior Mechanical Engineering student in Boston, where was a member of the sailing team and continues to crew in Big Boat regattas.

Then there's Candace. It's pretty cliché in a tribute like this to rave about the "woman behind the man," but here, there's plenty to rave about. Candace, however, stands behind no one. She’s fun and funny, and she really gets Matt. And, yes, she and Matt are really into each other. Candace also knows how to manage Matt. When I told her the story of Matt's, uh, dramatic reaction to the antacid, she just knowingly laughed.

Most importantly, though, the Association can expect real results with Matt Wagner at its helm. Yes, he can be intense, but he's never obsessive. He's serious without being funereal. Best of all, Matt is a really smart lawyer and a really good person.

In a few months, I predict the membership will be really into Matt. If they aren't already.