The State of Trademarks 2026

The Future of Trademark Management: AI Automation Paired With Human Expertise

To continue our research into the adoption of AI technology in trademarks, Corsearch commissioned a survey of 231 leading trademark practitioners as a follow up to our 2025 State of Trademarks Report.

With an almost even split of respondents based in-house and at law firms, primarily located across North America and the EMEA region, our research reveals the current state of transition around AI and automation in the trademarks profession.

Key takeaways from the 2026 survey

• 78% of respondents prefer a balanced mix of automation and human oversight. Human expertise remains essential in trademark management despite AI advantages, with interest in hybrid models increasing slightly compared to 2025.
  
  
• 51% are exploring AI's potential. Exploration and experimentation with AI have grown by 10% from 2025 as more legal teams try to harness its potential power.
  
  
• 57% say managing enforcement complexities across jurisdictions is their top challenge. Greater resources are being applied to tackle this top challenge in trademark protection.

The latest report shows that early adoption and experimentation with AI continues across the trademark management industry in 2026 - some caution remains, but confidence continues to grow. 

Download the report to explore:

• The rate of tech adoption across 6 key sectors, including pharma and consumer goods.
• Attitude shifts since 2025 and future predictions for trademark practitioners.
• The top 5 everyday AI use cases, including trademark clearance and drafting correspondence.
• Why cross-border enforcement remains the #1 challenge for both corporate teams and law firms.