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ARTICLE · 08 JULY 2026

How AI Is Transforming Patent Practice And What Your Business Needs To Know

Gowling WLG
Gowling WLG
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The efficiency gains are substantial, but so are the risks. Critical questions about who qualifies as an inventor, whether an AI-assisted invention is patentable, and what documentation companies need to protect...

GlobalIntellectual Property
Mark Sprigings
Mark Sprigings
Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill
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AI is fundamentally changing how companies invent, file, and protect their intellectual property. The efficiency gains are substantial, but so are the risks. Critical questions about who qualifies as an inventor, whether an AI-assisted invention is patentable, and what documentation companies need to protect their patent rights are no longer theoretical - they are here now.

Outlined below is what business needs to know, with particular focus on the Canadian legal context and offers practical steps to protect your competitive position.

Understanding AI's role in invention

The appeal of AI tools in the invention process is undeniable, and the benefits can be transformative. With skilled prompting, an AI tool can synthesise approaches from thousands of sources in seconds and apply them to complex technical problems. Many R&D teams are discovering that AI surfaces ideas they simply would not have considered on their own. When used as a collaborator in the invention process, AI can

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