Own your ideas
Implement your AI
Mitigate your IP &
AI legal risks
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
Primary Services
Providing counsel for all the ways that intellectual property and artificial intelligence issues can and will impact your business.
IP & AI audits and counseling
AI implicates a wide range of your legal issues including IP, …
… data privacy, cybersecurity, and employment.
Best practices for navigating IP issues has been a moving target for the past several decades, as our federal and state legislatures have reacted to these issues and IP has wound its way through the courts. AI will inevitably follow the same path, as the issues are overlapping and the stakes are even higher.
I will provide IP and AI audits for your business, assessing areas of potential improvement for your policies, procedures, and contracting on these issues. This includes counseling for compliance with the consistently inconsistent government regulations to come for AI.
Protecting your IP
If your business owns no IP, you are replaceable,…
If your company’s invention is in software/AI, in most cases you would be best served not applying for patent protection. Such inventions are presumptively not patentable under current law and filing patent applications is expensive (and enforcing them even more so).
And yet, if your invention proves to be patentable, then you would be a fool not to seek patent protection, which provide exclusive rights (whereas trade secret protections simply do not). But there are many traps for the unwary and the clock on them have already started ….
Let me help you determine early what your IP protection options are, so you can proceed strategically and effectively.
Implementing your AI
Without implementing AI successfully, …
… you will be replaced. This applies to both companies and in individuals.
Let me guide you in implementing AI in a legally compliant and effective manner. Or help you hold companies, employers (actual or potential), and/or the government accountable if they improperly implement AI at the expense of your legal and economic rights.
Noncompetes and trade secret misappropriation
Employers often assert noncompete and trade…
…secret misappropriation claims against former employees who have left to work for a competitor or to start their own competing businesses. In certain industries like information technology, these cases turn almost entirely on the application of IP law.
I am passionate about both IP rights and the right to job mobility. Let me help drive your dispute toward a principled middle ground preserving both.
How I ROLL
Work Process
Flat-fee or subscription-model billing where possible
Flat-fee billing aligns my interests with yours. You don’t need my time, you need solutions.
No legalese
Clear, plain-language drafting of contracts, policies, patent applications, etc. It’s possible. It’s better. Let’s do it.
Unity of focus and implementation
Just the right number of cooks here for laser-focused representation. Your business and I will always be on the same page.
Who AM I
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registered patent attorney with two decades of experience all centered around IP and the efficient practice of law
Testimonials
My Clients Said
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
We recommend Jim to all of our AI-first startups. Getting ahead of IP and AI legal issues from the start is a significant competitive advantage.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Scott Russo, Managing Partner, Dasein Capital
Jim makes complex IP issues simple so we can make sound business decisions. Our patent portfolio is in great hands!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Dustin O’Dell, Co-Founder, SymetryML
Jim helped us with a challenging contract negotiation implicating our IP and source code. He assessed our risks, gave practical guidance at every turn, exercised restraint, and kept us on principled grounds throughout. Glad to have him on our team!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Thomas Redmond, CEO, VeridianML
Have Questions?
Frequently Asked
Questions
Where are you licensed to practice law?
I am licensed:…
- in the state of Arizona to practice law and
- before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to draft and prosecute patent applications for clients in any state.
If your business is based in a state other than Arizona and you are interested in my general legal counseling services for IP or AI issues, please contact me to discuss further.
Do you use AI in your own practice?
Yes. Once you start using AI…
…there is really no going back. I disclose any use of generative AI to my clients and verify all output. While I do not believe GenAI will ever entirely replace a trusted legal advisor, it can—-and should—-replace some of the more labor-intensive aspects of the practice of law and drive down legal costs.
Do you take litigation cases?
I will take only IP and/or AI litigation cases, namely:
- GenAI liability cases, i.e., allegations of harm resulting from the implementation of generative AI by a company, employer (actual or potential), and/or the government, and
- assertions of noncomplete agreements and/or trade secret misappropriation claims, …
… but I otherwise prefer to focus my energies on helping keep my clients out of court where possible.