Managing Principal John Dower discusses how patent attorneys are playing an unusual yet pivotal role in the AI revolution, and that role is not about to end. AI is transforming every step of the innovation chain, from the conception and generation of inventions through to drafting, prosecution, grant and enforcement.
Patent attorneys are at the heart of this transformation and may well be unique in the number of AI touch points they are involved in, not just around how they work but also how they participate in the innovation cycle and evaluate their clients’ inventions.
At a fundamental level their very reason for existence- inventors and the inventions they create- has both been challenged and supplemented by AI. It appears there are a number of interesting current and future trends that may play out as a result of this:
- An increase in the quality of certain patents where AI is used judiciously.
- A plethora of lower quality patents of limited value which are largely AI-generated.
- Patents being vulnerable to revocation due to inventive contributions by AI.
- A new class of unpatentable AI-generated innovations, which could ultimately feature in first-to-market or trade secret strategies.
- Patent savvy companies increasingly using AI-driven patent analytics to direct patent strategy, including “white space” innovation and deep competitor analysis.
- A collapse in the lucrative patent translation market.
- Patent attorneys reducing cognitive burnout, and being able to devote more time to interesting and strategic work for the benefit of their clients.
- Reduced write-offs on loss-leading patent drafting and prosecuting as AI tools increase efficiency and quality of work product.
- An expectation by patent owners that drafting and prosecution costs will decrease, despite having stagnated.
- A fundamental shift in the way trainees are selected, taught and upskilled.
There are no doubt a number of other trends, and it may be too early to tell exactly which will predominate. At least for the foreseeable future though patent attorneys can rest assured that AI is not about to replace them, and that their jobs will be safe and potentially even more interesting and challenging.
