David Joo

In a recent conversation between leading European patent attorneys, they confirmed what many of us were experiencing firsthand: AI has moved beyond the hype to become an essential tool that elevates both strategic capabilities and operational efficiency for patent practitioners. The evidence is compelling and the transformation is accelerating. Listen to the full podcast here.

The intersection of artificial intelligence and European patent law has reached a critical juncture. As AI technologies mature from experimental tools to production-ready solutions, patent professionals face unprecedented challenges in securing robust IP protection. Recent developments from the Munich AI & IP Forum reveal both emerging opportunities and significant obstacles for companies seeking to patent AI innovations in Europe.

At the European Practice Conference hosted by the IP Owners Association in Paris, one fireside chat stood out for its insight and urgency: “IP Trends and Developments in AI.”

The session was led by two highly respected experts: Jean-François Adam, who covers all things European and currently serves as in-house counsel at Infineon Technologies, and Jonathan Osha, founding partner of Osha Bergman Watanabe & Burton LLP, who brought the US perspective. OBWB, a long-time thought leader in cross-border IP, was also the hosting sponsor of this year’s event, held at the elegant Hôtel le Marois in central Paris. 

Together, Jean-François and Jonathan offered a compelling look into the evolving challenges of patenting artificial intelligence-based inventions – and why practitioners on both sides of the Atlantic are grappling with inconsistent, outdated frameworks that do not sufficiently reflect the reality of modern innovation implementing AI.

Key Takeaways

• Proofreading software has become essential: Manual checks can’t keep pace with growing patent complexity and filing volumes. AI solutions can help prevent costly errors, office actions, and post-grant risks.
  
  
• Most legacy solutions fall short of quality control: Many platforms rely on basic rule-based checks, lack real-time drafting integration, and offer limited jurisdictional support, creating workflow gaps and added manual work.
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• Solve Intelligence for AI-assisted patent review: With seamless drafting integration, tracked changes, auto-propagation of edits, and multi-jurisdiction compliance, Solve Intelligence provides unmatched accuracy and efficiency.

Solving the pain points of patent document review

Patent proofreading and review tools are specialised to detect grammar, formatting, and structural issues in patent applications and related documents. With AI, these tools have also become beneficial in analysing claim structure, verifying aspects that require jurisdictional compliance, and maintaining consistency and support across the specification, claims, and formal drawings.

AI tools are able to identify nuanced semantic and structural issues that human reviewers often overlook. And for firms managing large portfolios, this reduces attorney time, unnecessary rejections, shortens prosecution timelines, and delivers tangible ROI. 

If tailored to specific jurisdictions like the USPTO and EPO, they can also incorporate jurisdictional-related requirements and guidelines that reduces costly amendments and foreign attorney fees, reducing the risk of post-filing objections.

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve the legal profession, patent attorneys find themselves at a critical inflection point. While generative AI tools are becoming ubiquitous in day-to-day tasks, replacing Google Search for many, the patent space presents unique challenges, particularly around precision, consistency, as well as professional and educated judgment.

From AI-assisted claim drafting to the future of inventorship and evolving legal standards under §101 and §112, this year’s AIPLA Spring Meeting in Minneapolis spotlighted the pressing issues shaping patent law in the age of generative tools.

In AIPLA’s closing plenary - Integrating AI in your Practice to Innovate, to assist and to survive the Changing Legal Landscape - these challenges were brought into focus by Michael Atlass (Sr. Director & Legal Counsel, Qualcomm), Ian Clouse (Partner, Holland and Hart), John McBroom (Open Technology Counsel, IBM), and Ben Siders (Practice Group Leader, Lewis Rice), revealing clear opportunities for patent practitioners.

AI adoption often seems daunting, but with Solve Intelligence, it doesn’t have to be. Attorneys can start using the platform right away -  no need to change existing workflows.