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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intelligence-based inventions – and why practitioners on both sides of the Atlantic are grappling with inconsistent, outdated frameworks that do not sufficiently reflect the reality of modern innovation implementing AI.

The Enlarged Board of Appeal issued its decision in G1/23 on July 2, 2025, addressing whether products put on the market before a patent filing date form part of the prior art when their composition or internal structure cannot be reproduced by the skilled person.

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Patent prosecution has always hinged on precision, speed, and strategic foresight. Yet as Office Actions grow in both volume and complexity, often bundling multiple §§102 (novelty) and 103 (obviousness) rejections grounded in nuanced claim interpretations and an ever-expanding body of prior art, the traditional toolkit of the patent professional faces serious challenges. Manual claim charting, painstaking annotation of cited references, and labor‑intensive crafting of responses under tight deadlines can create bottlenecks, drive up costs, and leave room for human error.

Enter AI-powered claim charting: a suite of advanced natural language processing (NLP), machine‑learning (ML), and knowledge‑representation technologies that is rapidly reinventing each step of the Office Action workflow. By automating the generation of claim charts, surfacing hidden flaws in Examiner rejections, semantically analyzing claim language, and even proposing targeted response strategies, AI tools are transforming how attorneys and agents prosecute patents.

In this post, we’ll explore four core capabilities of AI‑driven claim charting and how they bring both speed and insight to Office Action responses:

1. Automated analysis of Examiner rejections
2. Instant flagging of issues and gaps
3. Holistic assessment of claim language and prior art
4. AI‑generated response strategies