Patents, AI, and the Future of Attorney Practice
Here’s an example of how a single word can make or break your AI patent claim. During my epi webinar “Patenting AI-Related Inventions” yesterday, I discussed a case study involving L’Oréal’s famous patent application EP 4 000 000. Claim 1 was a runtime method directed at using a machine learning model to estimate the skin … Read more
AI patents are on the rise but many researchers and inventors still believe that “software isn’t patentable”. I’ll shed some light on this in the epi webinar Patenting AI-Related Inventions this Wednesday: Please join me on Wednesday, 27 April 2026 at 10am CET. More information and registration on the webinar webpage. Hope this helps!Bastian
I sat down with Michael Thesen on the epi INSIGHT podcast to talk about my favorite topic: AI in patent drafting: Guardrails, not shortcutsIn today’s episode, Michael Thesen speaks with Bastian Best about the use of generative AI in patent drafting, following Bastian’s article in epi Information 1/2026 and a recent epi webinar. They discuss … Read more
Today I learned that the Swedish patent office has a sister company, PRV Consulting, that offers patent search services. The pricing looks good. In the past, I’ve used the Swiss patent office’s ip-search service for preparing important invalidity actions. The Swedish offer might be worth a closer look especially for telecommunications and trucks, I guess. … Read more
As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the intellectual property landscape, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to keep track of the evolving ethical, legal, and procedural standards. To help you stay compliant and informed, I’ve created this living repository of official guidelines on the use of AI in patent work. I will continuously update … Read more
I’ve been invited to be a GuestKat on the one-and-only IPKat blog! 🤗 In my guest post, “Will the human in the loop please stand up?”, I dive into the EPO’s current AI practices following their recent Search and Examination Matters 2026 conference. The EPO is moving rapidly past the hype phase and into full … Read more
Every year, when the preview of the new EPO Guidelines are released, I do the same thing: I open the PDF and immediately CTRL+F for “Artificial Intelligence”. The preview of the Guidelines due to enter into force on 1 April 2026 are all about stability, liabilitym and the “human in the loop”. Here’s my summary: … Read more
Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking at the EPO’s flagship conference, Search and Examination Matters 2026. We had over 800 participants watching live. The energy was incredible, and it confirmed one thing: The profession is waking up. We are moving past the “hype” phase of AI and entering the “deployment” phase. But we didn’t … Read more
“The name of the game is the claim.” It’s a cliché, but it’s true. That’s why I start every new patent application with the claims. But I’ve always dreaded that awkward “blank page” moment. I’m sure you know the feeling. You’ve digested the invention disclosure. You’ve mapped out the protection hierarchy. Yet, there you are, … Read more
The office air tasted of floor wax and cold pizza. Lucas rubbed eyes that felt packed with grit, the partnership carrot dangling just inches from his nose. He needed this AeroTech Dynamics application to be bulletproof—a high-frequency drone rotor system that had to survive Mach 1. He fed the invention disclosure into ChatGeni, trusting the … Read more