Our IP and Open Source Practice is dedicated to serving clients in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The rise of open-source AI models has led to demands for regulation. The accessibility and democratization of AI raise concerns about its potential malicious use. Other ethical issues include potential intellectual property violations, the perpetuation of bias and discrimination, privacy and security risks, power dynamics, and governance issues within the community, as well as the environmental impact.

The open source AI community is struggling in three areas: challenges in maintaining code; challenges in ethics and deployment of these technologies, and challenges in law, policy and regulation. On top of this, the GNU General Public License (GPL), Apache License, and Mozilla Public License don't fit well with software-as-a-service or cloud services.

Key Services:

• Drafting and Reviewing Open Source Licenses: Creation and reviewing open-source licenses for AI software and tools. This includes ensuring compliance with existing open source standards, adapting licenses to suit the specific needs of AI technologies, and addressing issues including code attribution, redistribution rights, and modification permissions.

  
  

• Intellectual Property (IP) Protection and Management: Counseling on the protection of IP rights in AI, including patents, copyrights, and trademarks. We guide AI companies on how to protect their innovations while contributing to open source projects, and managing the risks associated with IP infringement claims.

  
  

• Patent Strategy Development: We assist clients in developing comprehensive patent strategies tailored to their specific technologies and business goals. This includes identifying patentable innovations, analyzing market trends, and understanding the competitive landscape. We specialize in drafting and filing patent applications for cutting edge technologies. Leveraging our understanding of the industry, we focus on clearly articulating the technical aspects and novel features of inventions to optimize the chances of patent grant. After filing, we navigate the complexities of patent prosecution, including responding to office actions, amending claims, and engaging in negotiations with patent offices to secure patent rights for inventions.

  
  

• Copyright in Generative Output: As of late 2023, U.S. copyright issues regarding generative AI remain unresolved. The main debate centers on who owns AI-generated works, as traditional copyright law requires human authorship. This creates ambiguity around whether AI creations are original, derivative, or ineligible for copyright. Additionally, there's concern over potential infringement of copyrights in data used to train AI. We provide counsel to position our clients at the vanguard and prepare them for future developments.

• Patent Portfolio Management: Our practice offers strategic management of patent portfolios, ensuring that our client's patent assets remain aligned with evolving business strategies and the dynamic technological landscape.

• Freedom to Operate (FTO) Analyses: We conduct thorough FTO analyses to ensure that our client's innovations and practices do not infringe on existing patents, reducing the risk of costly litigation.

• Competitive Intelligence and Landscape Analysis: We provide insights into the patent landscape, helping clients understand emerging trends, identify potential collaborators or competitors, and make informed decisions about R&D and patenting strategies.

• IP Licensing and Transactional Support: We assist in negotiating and drafting licensing agreements, joint development agreements, and other IP-related transactions, ensuring that our clients maximize the value of their patents.

• Litigation Support and Enforcement: We offer support in patent litigation, including infringement analysis, validity assessments, and enforcement strategies to protect our client's intellectual property rights.

• Regulatory Compliance and Ethical Considerations: We advise on compliance with regulatory standards relevant to AI patents, in particular, and counsel on ethical considerations in AI patenting, such as issues around algorithmic bias and data privacy.

We combine deep legal expertise with an understanding of AI and cybersecurity technologies, and are committed to helping our clients navigate the rapidly evolving IP landscape to achieve strategic business objectives.