AI Contract Review Startup BlackBoiler Bags Patents – But Are Patents Useful In LegalTech?

BlackBoiler, an AI-based pre-execution contract review start-up, has bagged four patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). But, perhaps the bigger question is: are patents for legal tech companies of any real use (see below)? Profiled in Artificial Lawyer this September – BlackBoiler aims to reduce the time that lawyers spend reviewing and marking up documents such as NDAs, service agreements, and other high-volume contracts. One of the approved patents, is a'Method and System for Suggesting Revisions to an Electronic Document', which the company says is a core component of its pre-execution technology for contract analysis. The technology suggests revisions to a document-under-analysis (DUA) and is part of a family of three patents as well as additional patent applications claiming this method.