Generative AI is profoundly transforming the landscape of patent law, fundamentally altering the roles and workflows of in-house patent teams and external legal counsel. This technological shift is enabling a more efficient, strategic, and involved approach to patent applications, reshaping the traditional division of labor and reducing dependency on external firms.

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The Changing Division of Labor

Traditionally, patent drafting has been a collaborative effort between inventors and external patent attorneys. Inventors describe their innovations, while external firms handle the strategic and technical drafting of the patent application. This clear division of labor has been effective but often inefficient due to lengthy communications and high costs associated with external legal advice.

However, generative AI is disrupting this established model by empowering inventors to take an active role in drafting their patent applications, particularly in preparing comprehensive sections like the “Background.” This shift not only saves time but also reduces the financial burden of the patenting process, allowing for a more direct and personal involvement in the creation of documents that protect their innovations.

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AI-Powered Drafting Tools

Generative AI tools can now assist inventors in drafting substantial portions of patent applications. For example, the creation of the “Background” section can be significantly streamlined right at the start. Inventors input essential details about the technology, existing solutions, and the specific challenges their invention addresses. An AI appropriately trained with knowledge of patent drafting best practices can then generate a draft that typically requires only minimal human revisions.

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Step-by-Step Integration of AI in Patent Drafting

1. Define the Domain: Identify the technological field relevant to the invention.
2. Describe Existing Technologies: Summarize current solutions and highlight their limitations.
3. Articulate the Problem: Clearly state the issue the invention aims to solve.
4. Engage AI Tools: Use generative AI tools to produce a draft of the “Background” section that aligns with patent drafting standards.

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This method facilitates a faster drafting process and accurately captures the essential legal and technical elements, reducing the iterative revisions typically required when working with external counsel.

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Strategic Importance of Freedom to Operate (FTO)

Before diving into the drafting of a patent, assessing the Freedom to Operate (FTO) is crucial. FTO analysis involves ensuring that the new invention does not infringe on existing patents.

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Here is where tools like Evalify play a pivotal role. Evalify is a tool designed to simplify the FTO process for inventors and companies, providing preliminary assessments that help identify potential legal barriers. This early detection allows inventors to adjust their designs or strategies before investing significant time and resources into patent drafting, reducing the risk of costly legal disputes.

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Disrupting Traditional Business Models in Legal Services

The adoption of generative AI and tools like Evalify is also poised to disrupt traditional business models in the legal industry, particularly the billable hours system. Historically, legal services have been charged based on the time spent by attorneys on various tasks. However, with AI streamlining significant parts of the patent drafting process and Evalify offering FTO assessments at a fraction of the traditional cost—$249 per one-time assessment and even lower per unit with subscriptions—the focus is shifting from hourly billing to delivering real, tangible value.

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This paradigm shift may represent the most transformative development in the legal industry over the past century. By reducing the reliance on billable hours, firms can offer more predictable pricing and focus on higher-value activities that can better align with client outcomes and strategic business goals. Evalify is at the forefront of this transformation, demonstrating how technology can significantly lower costs and enhance the accessibility and efficiency of legal services.

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A New Era in Legal Workflows

Generative AI is revolutionizing pretty much everything around the well-run-in, standard legal workflows, dissolving traditional barriers between in-house and external patent roles. This transformation not only saves valuable attorney hours but also enhances the overall quality and strategic alignment of patent applications. By empowering innovators and streamlining the drafting process and “the early checks at the source,” generative AI is ushering in a new era of intellectual property management. All this marks a significant shift in how legal support is leveraged in patenting, emphasizing the strategic importance of FTO assessments and the empowering role of generative AI in the patent drafting lifecycle… and (far) more to come.

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