Different roles within the IP practice and geographies significantly diverge in their attitudes towards AI

LONDON, Oct. 12, 2023 -- Clarivate Plc (NYSE: CLVT), a global leader in connecting people and organizations to intelligence they can trust to transform their world, today announced the release of its new report, Redefining AI: How IP practice meets the coming wave. The report explores the effects the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) will have on IP law, practice and processes, and the legal sector. It analyzes the responses of intellectual property (IP) and R&D professionals to understand their attitudes towards AI.

AI-based technology has already shown great potential for enhancing IP management and decision-making, automating laborious manual tasks, improving productivity and the speed of research. According to the survey conducted by Clarivate, IP practitioners are seeing significant adoption of AI in their field. However, different roles within the IP practice and geographies considerably diverge in their attitudes towards AI.

Gordon Samson, President, Intellectual Property, Clarivate, said: "At Clarivate, we are confident that AI will add value to the IP lifecycle. When combined with human knowledge and supervision, AI-driven IP technology can enrich our customers' expertise while also reducing undesirable risks. By designing and adopting AI responsibly, IP professionals can operate at greater levels than ever before using augmented human intelligence."

"AI-powered technology has already demonstrated great value in automating laborious manual IP tasks, improving productivity and the speed of research, enabling better informed decision-making in IP decisions."    

Almost half of respondents indicated that lack of regulation around AI is a concern.

Attorneys and law firms are the least comfortable with AI adoption, while non-attorneys, executives, and, most significantly, R&D respondents are more comfortable embracing AI. According to the results, the adoption of AI is received more negatively in Europe and the U.S. but is perceived more positively in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) regions. 

The AI adoption risks our respondents were most concerned about were accuracy of results, reliability and trustworthiness, ethical risks, client confidentiality, liability and accountability, and lack of regulation.

Other key findings in the report include:

  • Respondents from law firms are noticeably less comfortable with AI adoption than those that work at corporations
  • For attorneys, the greatest concerns of AI are liability risk, reliability, and client confidentiality
  • Non-attorneys, executives, and, most significantly, R&D respondents were more comfortable with AI adoption, despite the latter being more convinced AI would impact their function
  • AI adoption faces significant barriers among in-house legal departments and law firms

Arun Hill, Senior Consultant, Intellectual Property, Clarivate, said: "Embracing AI-enabled IP processes and services requires a continuous commitment to managing and evaluating risks. Although many respondents expressed concerns about AI adoption, a responsible approach rooted in assessing the legal, ethical, and social implications could mitigate those risks. This approach would help calibrate AI systems to needs and values without compromising the integrity of the IP system and, more broadly, fairness and justice."

To read the report Redefining AI: How IP practice meets the coming wave, visit here.

About the survey

Clarivate surveyed 575 IP and Research and Development (R&D) professionals from corporations (79%) and law firms (21%) across the globe of which 37% were Attorneys, 21% were Executives, and 11% worked in R&D. There was an equal split between North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, with Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions having a smaller representation (8%) in the overall dataset.

About Clarivate

Clarivate™ is a leading global information services provider. We connect people and organizations to intelligence they can trust to transform their perspective, their work and our world. Our subscription and technology-based solutions are coupled with deep domain expertise and cover the areas of Academia & Government, Life Sciences & Healthcare and Intellectual Property. For more information, please visit www.clarivate.com.

Media contacts

Sofía Nogués

Sr. External Communications Manager, Clarivate

newsroom@clarivate.com 

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