Navigating the IP Maze: Generative AI’s Role in Prior Art Search for Patents
By Mamata Saha
When we think of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) or patents in particular, prior art searches form a core aspect that need to be carried out before proceeding to the patent application process. Prior art is publicly available data that serves as proof of the knowledge of the invention. The process is cumbersome as it involves the painstaking effort of sorting through a multitude of scientific papers, patents, and technical documents, with the aim of extracting critical information. Thanks to the advent of AI, the process has now become less time consuming and more efficient.
Today, Generative AI (Gen AI) is the new buzzword in the technology world, and is making its presence felt everywhere, regardless of the industry type or product. Essentially, it’s safe to say that it serves as a competent knowledge source while people make their way through the complicated IPR web. It’s interesting to note that AI algorithms have the potential to navigate massive patent portfolios, find, and retrieve critical information. The speed and accuracy of such automated processes go up by several notches, resulting in the utilization of less time and fewer resources that go into manual prior art searches. Efficiency aside, AI also removes obstacles posed by language and geography and shares information in its totality. Needless to say, AI is equipped to accommodate ever-changing databases and other information sources. And it’s always up-to-date on the most recent developments across a range of industries.
In a word, patent professionals and innovators are able to make wise decisions, backed by the latest information.
Relecura, a name to reckon with in the IP and innovation space, owns a repository of (AI and) Gen AI-driven tools to tackle patent-related issues. Since we’ve based this blog on prior art searches, we’re happy to share that Novelty, our invention analysis tool, uses these technologies to help you run prior art searches. All you’re expected to do is share a patent number, click on ‘Prior Art’ and wait for the tool to fetch the relevant data for you. In the end, if it involves AI and Gen AI, you’ll find us way ahead of our competition!
