Ko IP & AI Law has closed effective Jan. 31, 2024
Jim W. Ko has joined the Wood Phillips IP law firm
www.woodphillips.com
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
If your business owns no IP, you are replaceable,…
…by any of your competitors. And AI implicates a wide range of your legal issues including IP, data privacy, 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, the stakes are even higher, and the forthcoming government regulations will be far tighter.
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 government regulations to come for AI.
Developing your patent portfolio
Some of your most significant investment risks…
…include applying for and enforcing your patents. These risks are magnified for any AI or software patent, because of the general (and ill-defined) prohibitions against patenting mathematical formulas and abstract ideas and the multiple avenues a patent defendant has to invalidate your patent.
The best way to mitigate these risks is to clearly define the scope of your patent claims and how they solve existing problems in your original application. A high-quality patent also facilitates meaningful negotiations for any license or sale of your patents and for any M&A activity. This may sound like common sense but it is just not common.
Noncompete and trade secret misappropriation employer-employee disputes
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 (IT), 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 states of Arizona and Maryland 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 or Maryland 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?
Not particularly as of yet, but I will explore…
…and implement AI in my legal review and drafting processes in the coming months. I will, however, disclose any use of generative AI to my clients and verify all output. I am bullish on AI’s potential as a value-add for discrete parts of the practice of law but I do not believe it will ever entirely replace a good lawyer.
Do you take litigation cases?
Generally no. I will represent former employees…
…defending against assertions of noncomplete agreements and/or trade secret misappropriation claims and will also represent an existing client in a given lawsuit if that’s what’s best for my client. But I otherwise prefer to focus my energies on helping keep my clients out of court where possible.