Patenting artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) innovations can be legally and technically complex. The innovations are themselves complex, so you need to work with attorneys who have the right scientific knowledge to understand the underlying mathematics and computer science techniques. Different jurisdictions also view AI and ML innovations in a variety of ways, which is also actively evolving, and can make it difficult to know whether the innovation can actually be patented. This means your attorneys need to be well-versed in this changing landscape, so that they can help you to devise and implement an appropriate patent filing strategy for your innovations.
At Appleyard Lees, we have a dedicated team of experts who not only have the technical backgrounds and know-how to handle your AI and ML innovations, but also have significant experience in navigating the complicated legal landscape in this technical area. Below, we introduce you to our core team of specialists, which is formed of senior UK and European patent attorneys with decades of experience in protecting computer-implemented inventions including AI and ML.
The core team is supported by our extended team of junior attorneys and trainees, many of whom have mathematics and computer science backgrounds. We also outline some example patents we have helped our clients to obtain for their AI and ML innovations, so you can see that we really are experts in this space.
We can help you to protect core AI inventions, where the advances lie in the models, algorithms or mathematical methods that underpin the AI. Core AI inventions may be generally applicable or may be generated to solve a particular problem, such as how to implement AI on ordinary devices or how to train AI on lots of user-generated data without compromising user data privacy,
Everyone knows the phrase “garbage in, garbage out”, i.e. that an AI model’s outputs are only as good as the data it was trained on. It can be difficult to obtain large and good quality datasets for use in training a model. Thus, synthetic dataset generation is an important part of AI model development and deployment. We can help you to protect inventions that relate to generating datasets for use in training AI models. Protecting the methods to generate the data, as well as the data itself may be important for your business, as there can be commercial value in both.
We have obtained granted patents for methods of generating datasets for shadow detection and removal, depth estimation, as well as tilt correction.
We have drafted and prosecuted patent applications that utilise AI in a wide, and ever-expanding, variety of areas! Some examples:
We have also worked on inventions that span multiple disciplines, such as generating a biomarker signature for a particular cancer. For multi-disciplinary inventions, we pair-up with a colleague in the other discipline(s) to ensure that the patent application is prepared correctly, since the law on what can be patented and how it can be patented varies between the biotech and chemistry spaces.
Filter by specialism
In March 2021, the UK government instructed the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) to publish enhanced guidelines on the examination of patent applications relating to artificial intelligence-based (AI) inventions. In September 2022, these guidelines were released.
In this episode, senior associate and patent attorney Paul Roscoe, and patent attorney Matthew Bennett, give an in-depth analysis of the new UK IPO guidance, and what it means for those seeking to protect AI innovation.
More episodes
This article provides an overview of how AI and software can be patented in key jurisdictions and commercial markets. This will help you and your trusted patent attorney to develop an optimal patent filing strategy for your AI innovations.
Read more
As technological developments, as well as macro-political and economic trends, continue to shape research, product development and commercial strategy, many organisations are rethinking how they protect the information that makes innovations valuable.
Read more
The UK Supreme Court delivered their long-awaited judgment in the Emotional Perception AI case. Applicants, innovators and patent attorneys working in the AI space can finally breathe a sigh of relief - it is now much clearer that AI innovations can be patented in the UK.
Read more
The arrival of the new US Patent and Trademark office (USPTO) Director, John A. Squires towards the end of 2025 has led to a flurry of activity from the USPTO in relation to patent eligibility.
Read more
The road to getting a patent can be quite long and winding. This can be advantageous for some patent applicants, particularly start-ups and spin-outs, because it spreads out the costs for patent prosecution over a number of years. However, there are times when it may be desirable to speed-up the patent prosecution process. In this article, we explain a popular way to speed-up the process to getting a patent: the aptly named Patent Prosecution Highway.
Read more
This article is the first in a series to examine the dispute in the English courts between Getty Images and Stability AI and the implications for images generated using artificial intelligence.
Read more
Denmark has proposed to amend its Copyright Act in an effort to protect individuals from the risks posed by AI-generated deepfakes - unsurprisingly, this has made waves in the IP world.
Read more
AI is fast becoming both a climate tool and a climate challenge. Through the lens of patent data, our experts track the technologies emerging to curb the energy demands of AI data centres and aviation.
Read more
Ahead of the next chapter in the ongoing UK proceedings regarding the ”Emotional Perception” patent application (application number GB1904713.3), our experts re-cap the story so far and share hopes on what might happen next.
Read more
Discover what it takes to secure protection for AI-driven technologies through real-world scenarios—including autonomy stacks in self-driving vehicles and a computer vision system.
Read more
In this article, we look at a recent UK case that illustrates how a user-centric invention that utilises hardware components, such as sensors and displays, can still fail to have an effect on a technical process. We also discuss how we can help you to determine whether a user-centric invention is likely to be patentable or not patentable in the UK.
Read more
Partner, and Head of Litigation, Robert Cumming, discusses AI, creation and the genesis of legal personality in this insightful webinar, originally presented at the CITMA Spring Conference in March 2024.
Read more
Consider this hypothetical scenario: You are a famous actor, you’ve played the role of a merchant mariner taken hostage by pirates, a pilot and a character who likes to run and whose mama told them life was like a box of chocolates. One day, you wake up to see a hyper-realistic video of yourself on the internet advertising a dental plan that you’re unaware of.
Read more
In this webinar for university knowledge exchange practitioners, patent attorneys and senior associates Edward Rainsford and Parminder Lally discussed what can, and cannot, be patented at the European Patent Office (EPO) and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Read more
Senior associate and patent attorney Paul Roscoe discusses T 0702/20, and the implications it could have on AI patent applications at the EPO.
Read more
It is no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have enabled innovation to grow in myriad application fields. The European Patent Office (EPO) considers applications relating to core AI techniques to be unpatentable. The application of AI and ML techniques to certain fields may be more successful at the EPO if the field is per se considered “technical”.
Read more
In 2020, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published a call for views on the patentability of artificial intelligence (AI) inventions. In March 2021, the UK government committed the IPO to publish enhanced guidelines on the examination of patent applications relating to AI inventions
Read more
This analysis looks at patent filings in traffic and transportation engineering. Our patent attorneys examine the direction of patent trends in this emerging field.
Read more
We look at AI patent filing trends relating to autonomous vehicles. What is the direction of innovation, and who are the key patent filers in this technology area?
Read more
In this article, we look at AI patent filing trends across aerospace and avionics, and identify the key filers in these fields.
Read more
Senior associate Parminder Lally looks at artificial intelligence-based grammar tools, and provide advice on whether this type of technology is patentable.
Read more
Parminder Lally’s article shows start-ups how to avoid the mistakes made by the start-up in Netflix’s The Billion Dollar Code.
Read more
In this article, we compare the requirements to obtain patents in the U.S. and Europe in the context of computer-implemented inventions such as simulation methods and artificial intelligence (AI).
Read more
Often, when the AI identifies a drug, and experiments confirm it is useful for the intended purpose, the drug can be patented. But what about the AI itself – can the AI be protected by patents, and should you try to?
Read more
It is possible to patent computer-implemented inventions at the European Patent Office (EPO). In particular, it is possible to patent computer-implemented inventions (CIIs) which function in the real-world.
Read more
Many start-up companies are developing artificial intelligence (AI) innovations, from AI-driven drug discovery to AI-based fruit harvesting. Many of these companies protect their AI inventions by filing patent applications, but a new AI-driven trade mark service could make filing a trade mark a faster and cheaper option.
Read more
We live in an increasingly digital world – not only do more of us communicate with each other and access information or content using ‘apps’ and the internet, but some of the work we may have previously conducted in the ‘real’ or physical world is now being performed using computer simulations or digital twins.
Read moreAppleyard Lees is dedicated to providing comprehensive intellectual property services in the U.K. and internationally. To discuss your IP challenges with a relevant professional, please submit the following brief details:
Partner
MA (Hons), Mathematics; Masters, Computer Science, CPA, EPA
Julia has worked in the patent profession in the Cambridge area for over twenty-five years and in January 2017 she opened our Cambridge office. She oversees the patent portfolios for a wide variety of direct clients. Julia’s mathematics b…
