Powering Progress | Ep. 9 – Protecting the Advantage

As AI and data center development continue to accelerate, much of the conversation has focused on power, infrastructure, financing, and scale, but behind every major technological shift is another critical issue that organizations increasingly have to navigate. Innovation governance is the framework we use at Vinson & Elkins to help companies identify, protect, manage, and ultimately maximize the value of their intellectual property, data, technology, and proprietary systems, including protecting against claims from other rights holders. And in today's environment, that challenge is becoming more complex and more important than ever. Modern data centers are no longer just physical infrastructure assets. They sit at the intersection of software, hardware, AI models, cooling technologies, chip architecture, operational processes, and proprietary engineering. As companies race to innovate, collaborate, and scale, the risks surrounding intellectual property ownership, protection, licensing, and competitive advantage are evolving just as quickly. In this episode, Vinson & Elkins' Chief Innovation Officer Aubrey Bishai is joined by Hilary Preston, Partner and Co-Head of Intellectual Property & Technology Litigation, to discuss how companies should think about intellectual property risks and opportunities in the rapidly expanding AI and data center ecosystem. They explore why innovation governance matters, where organizations may be most exposed, and how collaboration and partnerships can create new complexities around ownership and confidentiality, and why protecting innovation is increasingly becoming a core business and infrastructure strategy, not just a legal consideration.