The intangibility of intellectual property has always made the management of it a highly resource-intensive discipline.
Trademark portfolios can span many jurisdictions and digital platforms and in an ever-expanding and developing landscape, the possibilities and methods for infringement are always re-inventing themselves. The current gravitation towards the use of artificial intelligence as a tool in trademark risk assessment and enforcement has reshaped norms for completing and maintaining such work. Nevertheless, the limits of automated work, especially in specialised industries, should be questioned and scrutinised.
Clearance and Conflict Searching
Clearance searching is easily one of the most time-consuming stages within the trademark practice and is the process of identifying existing registered trademarks and any common law rights that may be in conflict with a proposed new mark awaiting filing. Previously, the process involved manual research of both national and international registers, followed by professional legal assessment of the likelihood of confusion or passing off between marks. It is highly labour intensive and takes considerable time to complete; however, the improvement and popularisation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools have significantly speeded up and optimised this process.
Specialist software can identify not only identical trademarks but also those that look, sound or mean something similar. This would previously have been a highly labour-intensive process and sometimes even unrealistic to expand the scope of searching. However, AI models can quickly identify relevant marks and improve searches by using pattern recognition and machine learning, making the clearance process much faster and more efficient.
Trademark Monitoring
Even after the registration of a trademark there is a continuous obligation to monitor for potential infringement; new trademarks applications are submitted and approved every day, and thus infringements may also emerge across a variety of platforms (such as social media and domain registrars).
AI monitoring tools can track trademark registers in real time and alert rights holders when a similar mark is filed. This allows them to consider taking action within the initial two-month opposition period after the application is published. AI can also search more widely for similar trademarks than manual monitoring would usually allow on the same budget.
The Importance of Professional Legal Judgment
Despite the breadth and efficiency of AI assistance in the area of intellectual property, there are still many important functions in trademark practice that are firmly rooted within the domain of professional legal judgment. It is of utmost importance to make use of AI tools sparingly and not to rely on them for absolute accuracy.
If you would like advice or assistance about the role of AI tools in trademark affairs, call Nath Solicitors and book your consultation today.