Protect the technical contribution behind your AI product
An AI product may use familiar models and still contain a distinct technical invention. The question is what your team developed, how it works, and whether a patent application can describe and claim that contribution appropriately.
Sanchelima & Associates helps inventors and businesses organize AI-related technology for patent review. A focused consultation examines the technical solution, development history, business objective, and filing timeline.
Two different questions deserve separate attention
An invention may incorporate AI as part of its operation. For example, its technical contribution might concern model training, inference, data processing, computing efficiency, or the operation of a device.
An invention may instead have been developed with assistance from an AI tool. That could involve software, a mechanical device, a manufacturing process, or another technology. The use of AI during development raises questions about human inventorship even when the final product contains no AI.
A project can involve both situations. The patent review should address each one instead of treating “AI” as a single legal category.
Can an AI invention qualify for a patent?
AI is not a shortcut around the ordinary patent requirements. The claims must satisfy eligibility rules, and the invention must meet requirements including novelty, nonobviousness, and adequate disclosure. Simply adding a model to a business task does not establish that those requirements are met.
The USPTO's December 2025 update addresses how improvements to technology, computer functionality, data structures, and learning systems are evaluated. A useful disclosure explains the particular mechanism and asserted improvement, rather than only the result the system is intended to achieve.
Who is the inventor when AI helped?
Only natural persons can be named as inventors under U.S. patent law. The USPTO's November 2025 revised guidance applies the ordinary inventorship standard regardless of whether AI tools were used. It rescinded the earlier February 2024 guidance.
We can discuss who conceived the claimed subject matter and what the development record shows. Prompting, selecting an output, coding, funding, or testing should not be treated as automatic proof of inventorship. The answer depends on the actual contribution to the invention. Our guide to inventions developed with AI explains how to prepare for that discussion.
What to bring to an AI patent consultation
- A concise description of the technical problem and your proposed solution.
- Architecture and data-flow diagrams showing where the contribution occurs.
- The relevant model, training, inference, hardware, or processing details.
- Available experiments showing the improvement and its limitations.
- A dated account of human development work and any AI tools used.
- Prior applications, planned publications, demonstrations, and sales activity.
Keep confidential datasets, code, and detailed invention material out of the initial public form. Arrange the appropriate sharing process with the legal team.
Plan protection around the business
Some questions involve software patent strategy; others involve ownership, licensing, or the treatment of information as a trade secret. The appropriate approach depends on how the technology is used and what the company needs to disclose.
Request a consultation with Sanchelima & Associates in Miami to discuss your AI technology or an invention developed with AI assistance. Include a general description and any approaching deadline. The review scope and fees are confirmed separately.