How Can AI Help IP Lawyers Do More with Less?
An overview of tools IP lawyers can use to improve their work
Since ChatGPT made headlines in November 2022, generative artificial intelligence has revolutionized the way people envision various fields, including the legal sector. The initial hype, fear, and skepticism have evolved, and this year, agentic AI has become the latest sensation in the tech world. Remarkably, within just two years, legal professionals have embraced this new reality and are exploring strategic adoption of various AI tools.
Focusing on intellectual property practices, this article discusses how specialized AI tools can streamline tasks for IP lawyers. Here is an important disclaimer — the authors are not endorsing any of the software products mentioned in this article and have not vetted them all. The products are merely offered to illustrate some potential use cases.
Furthermore, AI is not yet positioned to replace lawyers, so do not expect these tools to generate a finished, high-quality work product. The goal is to have the AI accelerate and improve the work product of legal professionals, not to replace them.
Searching and Monitoring. AI tools have been used and continue to be tested to facilitate patent searches using natural language queries or image-based searches, assist with trademark searches, and identify and manage trade secrets. For example, the Australian IP Office’s TM Checker is an AI-driven tool that helps small businesses check the availability and registrability of trademarks. Many commercially available trademark search platforms include an AI-driven search option, including TrademarkVision, which assists with image searching. Prior art search assistants include AddedMatter, XLScout, IP Author, PowerPatent, Qatent, Rowan and NLPatent. The United States Patent and Trademark Office uses AI-based tools, including similarity search features, to assist patent examiners in conducting prior art searches. In combination with other automated solutions, AI search tools can be automated to periodically monitor search parameters.
Drafting. AI can streamline the preparation and classification of specifications for trademark applications and the drafting of text or claims for patent applications. Patent drafting assistants include AddedMatter, IP Author, DeepIP, PatentMaker, ClaimMaster, Qthena, and Rowan. Trademark specification assistants include Sortify.tm.
Analysis. AI tools can assist in preparing claim charts for freedom-to-operate assessments and analyzing whether certain claim features are found in prior art. Third-party solutions like BrandShield and Gowling WLG's Saturn use AI to detect and combat online trademark infringement, counterfeit sales, and brand abuse. Patent invalidation assistants include XLScout and AddedMatter, and many of the tools useful for patent drafting can also assist with other tasks such as analyzing patents or reporting and strategizing for responding to office actions.
Office Action Reporting and Responses. AI's summarizing abilities can help report office actions and analyze objections or prior art cited in office actions. Many AI tools can be asked to help identify areas where the patent examiner has mischaracterized a cited reference, or can help identify unique features of a client's invention not shown in the cited prior art.
Legal Research. As in all areas of the law, there are many AI tools that can assist with legal research. Many of these tools are being developed to minimize hallucinations or require the system to provide lawyers with links to cited cases, to minimize the risk of the AI generating false citations. Alexi, Lexis+ AI, and CoCounsel are just a few of the tools available in this area.
In addition to thinking about how to deploy these tools to assist your own work, keep in mind that many clients are already using AI tools for a multitude of applications. Draft patent applications, strategies for responding to office actions, evaluation of website content to support claims that a trademark has been used, and preparation of draft contracts are just a few of the AI generated work product that the authors have had clients provide for consideration. Understanding how these tools work, and particularly the limitations of more general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT, can help you be prepared to manage your clients’ expectations in terms of evaluating and building on any AI-generated work product they may ask you to consider.
If you are an IP lawyer and have not tried various AI tools, it may be time to start playing in the sandbox. When doing so, it is crucial to ensure compliance with ethical and professional obligations. Thomson Reuters released a report finding that a whopping 95% of respondents expect AI to be central to their workflow in the next five years — but nearly 64% of respondents say they still haven’t received training on the technology. The report recommends that ongoing education will be necessary for organizations to safely and ethically navigate the GenAI-enabled world ahead. The authors could not agree more — when adopting and using AI tools, especially in the highly regulated legal field, it is important to proactively address ethical and professional obligations and other concerns, such as privacy, data security, and output ownership, on an ongoing basis. Playtime — try out these tools and be informed!
