Where AI meets IP: Insights from the CTC Legal Events IP Conference

One topic that attracted much discussion was artificial intelligence. We attended a roundtable entitled The intersection of AI and IP: balancing innovation and protection, which included representatives from Murgitroyd, BT and Hepworth Browne. The session addressed some of the challenges and strategies around balancing the promotion of AI-driven creativity with the protection of IP assets.

 

This is a topic many IP professionals will be familiar with, and the session underlined the fact that Patent and Trademark Attorneys still feel they are being somewhat left to their own devices when determining what type of AI should be protected through patent or copyright law. There is a lack of clear direction, and the view of the expert panel was that current patent law around AI has some catching up to do. There are, however, some outstanding decisions due imminently from the Court of Appeal, which may provide some clarity.

These challenges have created a climate of caution towards generative AI in the IP sector. However, the mood is rather different when it comes to using AI as an IP management tool. I spoke to several patent and trademark attorneys who said that that they can see how AI could have a number of potential benefits within their workflows. This may include improving the speed and efficiency of service delivery, while enhancing the breadth and depth of research to aid decision making.

 

There does remain a general reluctance to rely on AI alone, without expert human review. What’s more, there was an expectation that AI tools should be trained specifically on IP-related language and protocols. Generic AI tools do not, as yet, inspire confidence.

 

So while generative AI remains somewhat of a headache for IP professionals, the use of AI as a means of automating slow, cumbersome processes may be more readily welcomed. Provided, that is, it has been designed specifically for its intended purpose.

RWS has long been cognizant of the need to balance the potentially wide-reaching benefits of AI with its associated risks. On the one hand, strategic use of AI technologies could yield substantial cost and time savings for legal professionals. On the other, the high-stakes nature of IP management calls for a high threshold of quality and accuracy.

 

With these factors in mind, RWS developed its pioneering approach to patent translation – Genuine Intelligence. Genuine Intelligence combines the best of human expertise with advanced AI technology to deliver cost savings, time savings and greater consistency, while maintaining the highest quality standards.

 

These efficiencies are made possible by our patent-trained Language Weaver engines and Translation Memory tools. However, the human expert remains at the centre of this approach. All patent translations are subject to review and post-editing by our subject matter expert patent linguists, in order to ensure complete accuracy.

 

To find out more about how we can support you throughout the IP lifecycle, visit our IP Solutions page.