How Not to Be Replaced by AI as a Patent Attorney in 2026

00:00:00: There are two types of patent attorneys and one of them will be replaced by AI.

00:00:04: But there is still one thing that no machine can replicate.

00:00:07: So in this video, I'm gonna share with you the exact strategy how you can bridge the gap and become the irreplaceable advisor that no algorithm can touch.

00:00:17: So in a nutshell, it comes down to map makers and mountain guides.

00:00:22: The patent attorneys getting replaced are the map makers.

00:00:27: They define their value through on the one hand drafting documents so patent applications office action responses opposition briefs you know.

00:00:37: And secondly presenting options.

00:00:40: and on the other hand we have what i would call the mountain guides and those will be the patent attorneys who will survive.

00:00:48: now to understand the difference let me take you back to my own patent attorney training which is almost two decades ago.

00:00:56: So when I was a young patent attorney trainee, the way my supervisor trained me was... the classic approach, right?

00:01:06: He just passed on invention descriptions from the clients to me.

00:01:11: And my task was to make up my mind and then go back to my supervisor and discuss my proposed strategy of what to claim in the first iteration, what to put in the independent claim one for the new patent application.

00:01:28: And I remember one day there was a particularly thin invention description.

00:01:33: I made up my mind and didn't really have an idea what to put into claim one.

00:01:37: So I went back to my supervisor and said, well, so in this case, I think there's not really anything left to claim meaningfully.

00:01:46: So it should be maybe advice to the client to drop this case.

00:01:51: And here my supervisor said to me and i will remember this for for all my professional life basically he said we never do that.

00:01:59: We are advisors we always present options and the pros and cons and the decision is always up to the client.

00:02:08: so he told me to go through the invention description again and you know car about.

00:02:14: any any tiny difference over the prior art be it as small as as it is right and then draft a claim.

00:02:25: Where the distinguishing feature is.

00:02:26: this tiny difference of course would be a very extremely narrow claim and that would then be the suggestion we would give to the client and tell the client look this is what we can reasonably claim.

00:02:41: shall we proceed?

00:02:42: so the decision was up to the client and this is exactly what i'm calling the advisory trap.

00:02:50: being a neutral facilitator you know finding a way to draft something prevent the pros and cons and then stay out of the consequence space so to say.

00:03:02: In twenty twenty six this mindset is a recipe of disaster if you define your value just in presenting options.

00:03:10: You are basically a menu and nobody pays top tier legal fees for a menu.

00:03:15: The mountain guide on the other hand does not ask the client where to go.

00:03:19: The guide tells which path is safe.

00:03:23: Fast forward from twenty years ago when I was doing my patent attorney traineeship to today and let's have a look at how I'm drafting patents today.

00:03:34: Let's talk about one Task which every patent attorney will know when you are creating a new patent application.

00:03:42: one of the parts of the document is the background section right.

00:03:46: so this is on the one hand the part of the patent document which is important for the overall you know narrative right for for.

00:03:54: kind of building up the pedestal onto which the invention then is resting and giving this aha moment to the reader, hopefully to the patent examiner, right?

00:04:05: On the other hand, legally speaking, it's probably one of the sections of the whole patent document which has the least legal value, right?

00:04:14: So kind of a commodity, but still needed for a nice narrative.

00:04:18: So how do I do that today?

00:04:20: Well, I'm using AI.

00:04:22: So let me show you.

00:04:23: I have here a random chatbot open and all I'm doing here is I'm putting in an invention description and I have my prompt here, right?

00:04:36: I'm putting it in, press Enter and then we have to wait a second or two and boom, there we have it.

00:04:44: After a couple of seconds, a wonderful background section for the patent description, right?

00:04:51: I can also now tell my AI to, I don't know, make it shorter, only three paragraphs, right?

00:05:04: And boom there you go.

00:05:06: now we have a shorter version and we can use that bottom line of this demo.

00:05:11: well the text production part of our job as patent attorneys is effectively zero cost.

00:05:17: now right the background section.

00:05:20: even variations of that I can.

00:05:23: generate that in seconds.

00:05:25: And in twenty twenty six, no one will pay money for that anymore.

00:05:28: Now let me show you another demo.

00:05:31: This is my claim drafter tool.

00:05:33: So also here I am putting in my example invention description here and now the AI goes through the invention description.

00:05:45: And first of all comes up with an invention summary.

00:05:49: And now I can use the AI to go through a structured thinking process.

00:05:56: The AI basically in this tool as I have implemented it is thinking like a European patent examiner.

00:06:02: And in the end, it leads to a wonderful set of claims.

00:06:07: And boom, here we have it, a first draft of a complete claim set, which really is on point.

00:06:13: I can tell you in five minutes in this case.

00:06:16: So what's the point of this second demo?

00:06:18: Well, not only the tax production cost goes effectively to zero, but even the thinking required to generate highly strategic things like the claim options is being commoditized.

00:06:31: the i can give me five different ways to claim this invention in minutes.

00:06:37: so the overall bottom line to have the time to advise your clients like a true mountain guide you have to stop the manual labor today right now because text is a commodity now.

00:06:49: You need the tools like a GPS for the mountain guide, so you have the headspace to be the true strategic advisor.

00:06:58: So if you're interested in the prompt I was using for the background section and also in my claim drafter tool, you can try it out for free and I will put a link into the description.

00:07:08: This leads us to the one thing I mentioned at the start.

00:07:12: which I would call the ghost in the patent.

00:07:14: We have to understand what AI actually is.

00:07:17: It's a pattern matcher.

00:07:19: It processes billions of data points to predict what a patent looks like.

00:07:24: It has functional intelligence, but it has no mind.

00:07:28: It doesn't know what a legal boundary actually feels like in a courtroom.

00:07:33: So, strategic patent law is, on the other hand, multifaceted.

00:07:38: It's not just about, you know, the text, it's about the consequences in a large part.

00:07:44: For example, AI cannot feel the weight of a client's commercial risk.

00:07:49: AI also cannot be insured.

00:07:53: AI cannot be sued.

00:07:55: And so bottom line, AI cannot take responsibility for a choice.

00:08:01: And that's the value in twenty twenty six.

00:08:04: accountability.

00:08:06: The AI knows the trail maps, but it cannot feel the wind change.

00:08:11: So your job is to be the human who stands behind the work.

00:08:17: If you take the responsibility, you own the relationship with your client.

00:08:21: And if you just provide options on the other hand, you are just the next thing that will be replaced by AI.

00:08:29: So to sum it up, I think this will be the most profound change we will see this year in the patent industry.

00:08:35: I'm leaning into this shift with you, of course.

00:08:38: So starting today, I'm moving to a new schedule.

00:08:42: My plan is to make a video like this one.

00:08:45: every Tuesday to help you build this workflow in real time and to future prove your patent practice.

00:08:52: Make sure you are subscribed to the channel so you don't miss the next session next week.

00:08:58: Also, the full mountain guide blueprint is the subject matter of an article I just wrote, which I will publish to my mailing list.

00:09:08: on Thursday.

00:09:08: So if you want the written version of this framework, get on the mailing list.

00:09:13: Link is also in the description.

00:09:14: So what's the key takeaway of this video?

00:09:16: Well, you have a choice.

00:09:18: Be a mapmaker and compete with an algorithm or be a mountain guide and lead.

00:09:23: Now, what can you do next?

00:09:24: Well, for the tooling, go to powerclaim.io, grab the free prompt to draft background sections and also try out my claim drafter for free for one day.

00:09:35: And secondly, for the mountain guide mindset, join my seminar.

00:09:39: That's a three hour, very intense, hands-on online seminar where I'm walking you through a complete patent drafting workflow from the invention description to enhancing the invention description to drafting the claims and drafting the full patent application using the tools I'm using in my own patent attorney.

00:10:01: practice.

00:10:02: After the three hours in the seminar, you will know how to automate the things we need to automate in our profession in order for you to have the headspace for the important high value strategic advisory.

00:10:16: Links are in the description.

00:10:18: Hope this helps.

00:10:19: Talk soon.