USPTO Approves Settlement Regarding Professional Misconduct Involving AI Use in Patent…

The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a final order approving a settlement concerning a registered patent attorney accused of professional misconduct related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in patent litigation. The attorney used AI to help prepare a claim construction chart for a case pending in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The AI-generated material contained several incorrect or fabricated citations to the patent’s intrinsic record.

The final order stipulated that the attorney acknowledged the errors and accepted responsibility for the conduct. The violations concerned the attorney's failure to verify AI outputs, specifically regarding its propensity to hallucinate. The case highlights the growing scrutiny of AI limitations within patent law practice.