Revolutionizing Your IP Portfolio with AI: Three Questions with David Perry

David Perry (Blank Rome LLP, USA)

The intersection of intellectual property (IP) and artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of the most debated topics of discussion at INTA events in recent times—and for good reason, as AI has the potential to both revolutionize the industry and to redefine IP itself.

The technology continues to evolve and the future remains opaque, as we continue to study and investigate AI’s impact on IP, including at the 2025 Leadership Meeting, taking place from November 18 to 21 in Hollywood, Florida, USA. David Perry (Blank Rome LLP, USA) will moderate a session titled Revolutionize Your IP Portfolio with AI: Strategy and Client Value. This session will dive into integrating AI into portfolio management, highlighting its transformative impact on decision-making, risk assessment, and client service.

Mr. Perry last spoke to the INTA Bulletin about AI in February last year, in his role as co-chair of INTA’s The Business of AI Conference. At that time, he stated, “For many law firms, we’re at the birth of AI in terms of everyday work.” In this new interview, Mr. Perry provides an update on how his firm is now using AI to deliver measurable value to clients, sheds light on a particular obstacle his firm currently faces, and looks ahead to the Leadership Meeting and how the relationship between AI and the IP community will continue to evolve.

You’re moderating a session at the 2025 Leadership Meeting titled “Revolutionize Your IP Portfolio with AI: Strategy and Client Value.” AI is reshaping the IP landscape—what’s one specific way it has enhanced your strategic approach or delivered measurable value to your clients?
Recently, a client with a unique, indigenous cultural background asked for advice on IP and, specifically, current thinking on the use and impact of AI on their creations. Given that there are already so many good resources published on IP, there was no reason to recreate the wheel. At the same time, however, many longstanding resources aren’t yet speaking to the impact of AI.

Fittingly, we were able to use an AI program to combine, distill, and update the resulting write-up to not only allow us to weave in the latest advice on AI and its impact on IP, but also customize the deliverable to the specific audience and address some of the unique concerns around their creations. At least in this case, where some of the existing sources permitted adaptations like ours, we were able to work within a tight budget and still deliver a detailed, tailored product to help the client.

From data privacy to implementation hurdles, what’s a key obstacle you and your clients have encountered—and how are organizations navigating it? 
In less than two years, we have already had to update our own internal policies on the use of AI (e.g., how we, as a firm, can use AI in marketing and content pieces), and we’ve had to navigate clients that are expressly reticent about the use of AI in our counsel, for fear of compromising their confidential information or receiving inaccurate advice.

In reality, the pool of the most cautious, worried companies is shrinking fast. But it does, for now, create a bit of a burden on our firm to track the individual needs of the client base while appreciating that this is all moving very, very quickly. On a weekly basis, we’re pitched and presented with new and updated AI tools whose protections and privacy features continue to get smarter.

So, an obstacle we are living with—and living in—is navigating the uncertainty levels that vary from company to company, client to client, while knowing that, in a year’s time, adoption across industries will present a different (and probably easier, clearer) landscape when it comes to privacy, security, and confidentiality.

What role does the 2025 Leadership Meeting play in the overall debate surrounding the intersection of AI and IP?
This Leadership Meeting session is like the “well visit” that follows The Business of AI Conference that INTA held in New York City in March 2024. There, we worked hard to present distinct and practical sessions on what AI was presenting to us. A little more than a year and a half later, this session sees us checking in on where we are now on the use of AI for portfolio management, analysis, decision-making, and client services. But—spoiler alert—it’s going to have to do a bit of future-telling, too. I’ll predict right now that in November 2025, we’ll find that companies and firms are still just scratching the surface of AI tools, capabilities, and adoption. We’d be wise to check in again in 2026 and, better yet, in 2027, as well, to really wrap our heads around how much things have changed in our practices because of the power of AI!

Learn more and register for the 2025 Leadership Meeting.

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