Guest post: The AI patent race – Why startups need to think beyond filing
Legal IT Insider
1mo · 8 min
For AI start-ups, filing a patent may seem like crossing the finishing line.
For AI start-ups, filing a patent may seem like crossing the finishing line. An invention has been found, the application is ready and the company can then get on with building the product.
In reality, filing is much more like the starting line. The pace of AI development is making that distinction increasingly important. The World Intellectual Property Organization’s 2026 data shows just how quickly the landscape is changing: published GenAI patent families rose from approximately 14,000 in 2023 to more than 37,800 in 2025. More than 56,000 were published across 2024 and 2025 combined, exceeding the total for the preceding decade.
The challenge for start-ups is therefore no longer just determining whether an invention is patentable. It’s about deciding what really deserves protection, how that protection fits into the broader company picture and whether the end result will be a useful IP position as the technology continues to evolve.
An IP portfolio can become quite large without ever being strategically valuable.
A patent is not automatically a competitive moat
Start-ups are frequently encouraged to build a patent portfolio because patents can signal technological capabilities to investors, potential acquirers and competitors. However, the quantity of applications filed is an extremely poor substitute for the quality of the underlying IP strategy.…
That's the opening of the original reporting — continue reading at Legal IT Insider for the rest.
Open at Legal IT Insider ↗
