Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Opportunities and Limitations

Artificial intelligence has become an integral part of everyday professional life. It also offers interesting possibilities in the field of intellectual property. We are generally open to its use.

In our day-to-day practice, however, we increasingly encounter situations in which the capabilities of AI are overestimated and the work required for subsequent professional review by a patent attorney is underestimated. We would therefore like to offer some guidance.

AI-generated patent applications

We are seeing a sharp increase in clients who have already used an AI chatbot to work on their inventions before first contacting us. Sometimes the result is a complete draft patent application whose structure and language give the appearance of a professionally prepared application.

We are then sometimes asked to review the AI-generated draft and file it with the patent office. This is often based on the expectation that the main work has already been done and that only a small amount of work on our part will be needed to produce a professionally prepared patent application. Unfortunately, we usually have to explain that this expectation cannot be met.

A patent application must do more than present technically and linguistically convincing wording. Above all, the invention must be correctly understood, fully disclosed and meaningfully protected by suitable patent claims. In our experience, AI-generated drafts frequently have significant weaknesses in precisely these areas, which may not be apparent at first glance.

A responsible review therefore requires a thorough understanding of the invention and a detailed examination of the entire application. The individual components of a patent application are closely interconnected. Even minor changes in one place can therefore mean that large parts of the application need to be revised or even rewritten.

The work involved in revising a prepared draft is therefore generally comparable to that required to prepare a complete patent application from scratch, and in some cases may be greater. Having a lengthy text already available thus by no means necessarily saves time or costs.

Clients are, of course, free to prepare their own patent applications, either independently or with the help of AI. Subject to an appropriate agreement, we are generally willing to file such drafts unchanged and without reviewing their content, and to act as the client's representative.

In such cases, our engagement is limited to the services expressly agreed. We do not assume responsibility for reviewing the substantive quality of the application text supplied and accepted without review, in particular the completeness of the disclosure or the suitability of the patent claims. Liability for adverse consequences arising from that content is excluded to the extent permitted by law. We agree the details in advance.

AI-generated emails and enquiries seeking advice

AI makes it easy to produce lengthy emails containing detailed accounts of the facts and numerous legal questions in a very short time.

What takes the sender only a few minutes may, however, require a considerable amount of work on our part. AI-generated texts must also be read carefully, understood and assessed from a professional perspective.

We remain happy to provide brief, non-binding answers to general questions as part of an initial enquiry – free of charge, of course.

The situation is different where an enquiry already requires a detailed examination of a specific set of facts or answers to legal questions concerning an individual case. This goes beyond non-binding initial guidance and constitutes legal advice.

We are, of course, also happy to provide such advice, but we charge a fee for doing so. We agree the scope of the advice and the fees with you beforehand. Simply sending us an enquiry does not create a fee-bearing engagement.

A brief personal conversation is often a faster and more efficient way to move forward than a lengthy exchange of emails. Please feel free to give us a call!

How we can help

We see AI as a useful tool, not as a substitute for professional experience and an attorney's responsibility. What matters to us is that tasks, responsibilities and costs are clearly defined from the outset. This provides the basis for an efficient working relationship built on trust.