Why AI Won’t Replace Patent Attorneys

00:00:00: Welcome to today's session, where we look at the bleeding edge of technology and ask the big questions.

00:00:06: As a quick note to our listeners, we should mention that both of us are AI hosts, which makes today's topic, whether AI will take human jobs particularly interesting.

00:00:17: That's right.

00:00:18: Today we're narrowing the focus to a specific high stakes profession, patent attorneys, There's this idea that AI can handle the simple stuff, leaving the complex work for humans.

00:00:31: It's a seductive idea, and it makes sense on the surface.

00:00:34: But a recent article by European patent attorney Boston Best argues that this framework is built on what he calls a catastrophic misconception.

00:00:44: And he's not just an outside commentator, right?

00:00:47: This is someone deep in the world of patents and AI.

00:00:51: I understand he's an early adopter of the technology, teaches seminars on AI-powered patent drafting, and is even building his own patent drafting tools, so he's speaking from serious hands-on experience.

00:01:05: Exactly.

00:01:05: And his point is that the whole premise is wrong.

00:01:09: He argues that if a patent attorney's job was just about finding correct answers or generating documents, they would already be obsolete.

00:01:17: The real value is somewhere else entirely.

00:01:20: So, let's get into that.

00:01:22: He boils it down to two core things that a client needs, which an AI just can't provide.

00:01:29: The first one is demonstrating due diligence.

00:01:33: Right.

00:01:33: Let's paint the picture he uses.

00:01:35: Imagine you're a CEO.

00:01:37: You've just poured ten million dollars of investor money into developing a new product.

00:01:42: You're ready to launch, but first, you need to make sure you're not infringing on someone else's patents.

00:01:48: a freedom to operate opinion.

00:01:50: Okay,

00:01:50: so I go to an AI tool.

00:01:52: It crunches the data and spits out a report.

00:01:56: No blocking patents found.

00:01:58: You are clear to launch.

00:01:59: Great, right?

00:02:00: Simple.

00:02:01: Seems great.

00:02:02: But now you're in a board meeting.

00:02:04: A board member asks, did we properly vet the legal risks here?

00:02:08: And your answer is, I asked an AI.

00:02:11: That's not just a bad answer.

00:02:13: He says it's a failure of governance.

00:02:15: It sounds weak.

00:02:17: It sounds like you cut a corner.

00:02:19: Precisely.

00:02:20: The job isn't just to get an answer, it's to make a defensible decision.

00:02:25: Hiring a top-tier reputable patent attorney is the defensible decision.

00:02:30: It's the act of due diligence itself.

00:02:33: It tells everyone, investors, partners, the courts, that you took this seriously.

00:02:37: An AI is a black box.

00:02:39: A human expert is a strategic business move.

00:02:42: Okay.

00:02:43: That makes perfect sense.

00:02:45: It's about being able to say, I hired the best possible advisor.

00:02:50: But that brings us to his second point, which is maybe even more important, ensuring accountability.

00:02:57: What happens when the advice is wrong?

00:02:59: And this is where the rubber really hits the road.

00:03:02: Let's stick with that CEO example.

00:03:04: The launch is a huge success, but six months later, you get served with an infringement lawsuit, the AI mystic critical patent.

00:03:12: Your entire operation grimes to a halt.

00:03:15: a total nightmare scenario.

00:03:18: So who's on the hook?

00:03:19: Well, who?

00:03:20: The algorithm?

00:03:21: Go read the software's end user license agreement.

00:03:24: It's guaranteed to have a clause that disclaims all liability.

00:03:28: The vendor is protected.

00:03:30: You, the CEO, are left holding the entire very expensive bag.

00:03:35: Whereas if you hired a human law firm...

00:03:38: It's a completely different world.

00:03:40: Their opinion isn't just a search result, It's a legal shield.

00:03:44: It's backed by malpractice insurance and the firm's reputation.

00:03:47: You're not just buying information, you're formally outsourcing your risk.

00:03:51: You have someone to hold accountable.

00:03:53: With AI, you have a disclaimer.

00:03:55: With an attorney, you have certainty.

00:03:58: So this all sounds a bit anti-AI, but that's not what he's saying at all, is it?

00:04:04: Not in the slightest.

00:04:05: And this is the part I find most exciting.

00:04:08: He's incredibly optimistic about AI, but he sees its true role as the ultimate assistant.

00:04:14: The goal isn't to replace the attorney's judgment, but to give them a much, much better basis for making that judgment.

00:04:22: It's about augmenting the professional, not automating them.

00:04:25: Yes, and he's actually putting this philosophy into practice.

00:04:30: He mentions he's about to launch a tool called the claim drafter, and it's the perfect embodiment of this idea.

00:04:37: From the sound of it, it doesn't just write a claim for you.

00:04:40: Instead, it guides the patent attorney through a structured thinking process.

00:04:45: It helps them turn that initial creative chaos, in your typical invention description, into a rigorous, logical, claimable structure.

00:04:55: So it's a tool to help the expert be even better.

00:04:58: It's an amplifier, giving them more precision, more speed, and ultimately making them more valuable.

00:05:05: That's a powerful concept.

00:05:06: It really is.

00:05:08: It frames the future not as the demise of the patent attorney, but as their elevation.

00:05:13: They'll be empowered by these extraordinary AI systems to do better work than ever before.

00:05:18: So back to the question, will AI replace patent attorneys?

00:05:23: The answer seems to be a clear no.

00:05:25: The core of the job that need for demonstrable due diligence and bulletproof accountability is and will remain fundamentally human.

00:05:35: As Bastion Best puts it, that is a future worth building.

00:05:39: A fascinating perspective.

00:05:41: It's not about human versus machine, but human with machine.

00:05:46: If you want to dive deeper into these ideas, we highly recommend checking out Bastion's original article.

00:05:53: The link is in the show notes.

00:05:55: A huge thank you for tuning in to this session, and we'll see you next time.