Many firms and in-house counsel think of ‘IP software’ and ‘docketing database’ as interchangeable terms. Which is understandable as software tools for IP have only ever kept track of registry deadlines. With some add ons to assist with filing and checking local records in the docketing database against official ones at the registry. With Covid we’re seeing expectations change significantly. Firms of all sizes want better tools that do more. Not just to support work from home, but to reduce work and improve client service. For the full lifecycle of an IP right.  From on platform automated clearance searches for trademarks. Online forms for instructing searches and client areas to see results. Through automatic tracking of application status, built in watching and client tools for monitoring and reporting. And so much more. All of which reduce cognitive load and time, and improve client and user experience. Contact us now for a test drive.

  During 2020 we’ve been working on a lot of new trademark functionality, covering search, filing, watching, and record management. With a lot of interest from firms wanting to offer trademark services online, particularly filing and fee quotations. As well as adding this functionality to a site using LawPanel’s APIs we have an even easier and quicker integration for WordPress sites using our new plugin. See it in action on  Trade Mark Direct Network  a new service focussed on easy international filings in any country, but with a particular focus on the EU, UK (now requiring separate registration after Brexit), USA and Canada, Australia and key European countries, with more to follow including online WIPO fee and ordering. This will be the first online calculator fo giving fee estimates for advice and search fees, as well as official fees.

  ‘And like that … he’s gone …he became a myth, a spook story.’ ‘The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.’ These great lines from the film ‘The Usual Suspects” came to mind during a recent legal AI panel discussion. The panel were well informed and discussing the provocative theme of whether AI will pose a threat to lawyers. Through their losing control, and should they be afraid? Nearly everyone on the panel, as well as those in the audience talked of ‘AI making decisions’. Now this was not unusual, go to any number of discussions on AI and they’ll follow this pattern. For many AI is entirely ephemeral. They know it’s increasingly used in E-discovery and contract automation. Leading them to fear it could be coming for them next. But they have no mental model or clear language for discussing AI. So there is a lack of clarity, and in the fog of confusion, the myth or spook story of AI as a potential slayer of lawyer’s livelihoods has grown. ...

  As the number of firms trying LawPanel grows daily we thought we’d give a quick overview of what this looks like. We make it easy Add just one or two portfolios to begin with. There are no fees during this phase. We do the data import and setup. We give you a data cleaning report showing missing fields and differences between local records and official records for major registries. We come in and show you how to make the most of the LawPanel platform. Then when you’re 100% satisfied of the benefits of LawPanel we can migrate over the rest of your data. And only then is there any cost for your firm. For a demo, trial, or just to find out more please  contact us

  Thoughts on why current machine learning alone cannot fully automate comprehensive trademark clearance searching. A number of people and firms have applied machine learning techniques to the task of automating word mark clearance searching. And others, including the global head of R&D at one of the leading law firms, have suggested that it’s a valuable R&D path to try now. I’m not so sure that’s so.  We’ve tested search tools that are described as machine learning-driven and compared the results to those from our own search tool which uses a human-designed model of similarity  (US patent here  https://patents.google.com/patent/US20080228485A1/en  ) All are competent and useful for short text strings of a couple of words, particularly where both words are distinctive. However, the machine learning search tools are much less effective when one of the search strings is 3 or 4 or more words and distinctive terms are mixed in with descriptive words. If as a...

  Last week our time on the MDR Lab program culminated with us presenting the LawPanel platform to an audience of lawyers, journalists, and industry experts. It was great to have so much positive feedback and show off what LawPanel can do.  It was also exciting to see demos from the rest of our cohort: ThirdFort , LitiGate , Digitory Legal , and dealWIP . All of us have worked very hard over the past few months, and each presentation was genuinely impressive.  The idea behind MDR Lab is very far-sighted. Above the Law has described MDR Lab as Y Combinator for the legal tech sector , and from our experience, that’s not far off the mark.  The access to such a well-respected trademark practice has helped us build a suite of new features for LawPanel, which we’ll be releasing to the public later this year. Below you can see us adding marks straight from the register in a matter of seconds.  We’ve always thought that IP law is poised to benefit hugel...

 For the last few months, we’ve been working with the trademark practice at Mischon de Reya , getting ready to launch the new version of LawPanel. It’s currently in private beta, and we’re very excited about releasing it to the public later this Summer.   It’s been a real privilege to have so much feedback from such a well-respected practice. One of the most rewarding things about our time on the MDR Lab programme has been observing the real-life implications of IP management software for those who spend so much of their day using it.   The problem with technologists is that we tend to talk in our own private jargon. We’re passionate about what LawPanel can achieve within the sector, but even we spend too much time talking about APIs and dynamic programming and not enough explaining what all this means for the user.   With that in mind, we wanted to explain some of the practical results of our approach, and how LawPanel will help change the working ...