EPO to Use AI Tools for Minuting Oral Proceedings

The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced a pilot project to implement artificial intelligence tools to assist in the preparation of minutes during oral proceedings conducted by videoconference. This development represents a notable evolution in the EPO's approach to procedural documentation, but aligns with the recent trend of increasing AI adoption by the EPO generally.

EPO to Use AI Tools for Minuting Oral Proceedings

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Page White Farrer Adopts Solve Intelligence for AI-Assisted Patent Drafting

Page White Farrer Adopts Solve Intelligence and Solve's AI Templates

Page White Farrer ("PWF"), a specialist intellectual property firm with a longstanding focus on technology-driven innovation, has selected Solve Intelligence to support patent application drafting following an extensive evaluation of available AI tools. The firm has initially deployed the platform within its technology-focused patent teams, supporting work across sectors such as AI, software, telecommunications, electronics, semiconductors and engineering. 

The firm's objective was not to automate legal judgement or replace attorney expertise, but to accelerate the preparation of high-quality first drafts of patent applications. By combining AI-assisted drafting with custom templates tailored to the firm's preferred drafting approaches, Solve Intelligence helps attorneys move from an initial claim set to a reviewable first draft more efficiently while maintaining consistency and technical accuracy. 

For this partnership, PWF's primary focus was on configuring the platform around the firm's own drafting conventions, client preferences and established best practices, ensuring that the technology supports the way its attorneys already work. 

The Honest Risks of Using AI in Patent Prosecution

AI is changing how patent prosecution gets done, and the upside is real. So are the downsides: hallucinated citations, confidentiality exposure, export-control pitfalls, and prosecution-history estoppel. This is an honest account of the risks of AI patent software in prosecution, and what actually reduces each one.

Key takeaways

  • Anyone presenting AI-assisted content to the USPTO must reasonably review it; relying on the tool's accuracy alone is not enough.
  • Courts have already sanctioned attorneys for AI-hallucinated citations, and similar risk applies to office-action responses and PTAB briefs.
  • The USPTO warns that AI tools on foreign servers can raise export-control, foreign-filing-license, and national-security problems.
  • Grounded citations, exposed reasoning, zero data retention, and attorney oversight are what materially reduce AI risk in patent prosecution.

Maiwald Chooses Solve Intelligence for Selected AI-Supported IP Workflows

Solve Intelligence is proud to share that Maiwald, one of Germany’s largest and most progressive intellectual property firms, works with Solve Intelligence on selected AI-supported workflows in its patent and legal practice groups. Following an evaluation period during which selected functionalities were assessed for approved internal use cases, Maiwald and Solve have formed an enterprise partnership for 2026.

The rollout reflects the same careful approach Maiwald brings to its client work. Solve enables customers in Europe to process data on servers located within Europe and holds recognized information-security certifications. In addition, Solve offers contractual commitments designed to protect confidential professional information in line with applicable statutory confidentiality obligations and professional conduct requirements. Against that background, any use of AI-supported tools took place only within approved governance structures and under applicable professional, contractual, confidentiality and data-protection requirements.

That balance of innovation and professional judgment is characteristic of Maiwald. The firm has spent decades setting a standard for IP work in Europe: rigorous prosecution, a formidable contentious practice, and interdisciplinary teams of patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law working side by side. The firm approached AI the same way, methodically, with a clear sense of where it adds leverage and where an experienced attorney’s judgment remains irreplaceable. 

PTAB Case Studies of AI Disclosure Requirements: Part II

This article is the second of a series of Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) case studies (see Part I), which aims to inform applicants’ approach to satisfying the written description and enablement requirements for patenting artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies.