Strategic Intellectual Property Considerations for Artificial Intelligence Technologies: How “Non-tech” Companies Could Be Missing Hidden IP Goldmines | International Lawyers Network

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/strategic-intellectual-property-7043316/

Publish Date: 2026-03-20 23:18:00

Source Domain: www.jdsupra.com

Companies outside traditional tech sectors may be sitting on IP goldmines without realizing it. Manufacturing, e-commerce, and consumer products businesses routinely use AI technologies from predictive maintenance to automated pricing. These technologies represent valuable intellectual property assets. While these companies may not self-identify as “tech companies” in the Silicon Valley sense, their AI implementations are every bit as technically sophisticated and legally protectable.

Even when AI implementations are not core to customer-facing products, they warrant strategic protection. Operations-focused enterprises can leverage these innovations for competitive advantage, licensing opportunities, or as defensive assets in a broader IP strategy.

AI patent growth trends

The patent landscape tells a compelling story. The United States has experienced significant growth in AI-related patent applications. According to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Artificial Intelligence Strategy Report, AI-related patent applications increased 33% between 2018 and 2024, indicating sustained growth in this area beyond just the recent generative AI boom.

While AI-related patent applications have faced initial higher rates of rejection based on subject matter eligibility challenges at the USPTO, patenting AI-related inventions can be successful with a proper strategy. The USPTO’s August 2025 memorandum clarifies common issues in subject matter eligibility analysis, creating a clearer path to patenting AI-related inventions by narrowing the overuse of the “mental process” rejection category and ensuring examiners only reject applications when ineligibility is more likely than not. Experienced practitioners regularly achieve success by utilizing strategic drafting and prosecution to navigate USPTO challenges, including;