Knowledge, readiness & team setup
Dedicated automation teams
While most respondents are moderately aware, only about a third feel highly confident in their automation planning. Yet, the majority have at least some internal structures guiding the shift toward automation.
Budget, research & planning
- Do you have a dedicated budget for automation? ........... Only 42% of firms have allocated funding.
- Have you conducted automation tool research? ........... 56% have actively explored automation options.
- Have you documented your automation strategy? ........... Just 29% have a formal roadmap in place.
Financial limitations and lack of strategic planning are recurring hurdles, especially for smaller firms.
Adoption: what’s already automated?
The most implemented automation features include:
More advanced automation (e.g. IDS filings, draft responses, cost estimates) remains relatively rare, although there's growing interest in these areas.
Primary goals of automation
Firms reported multiple expected benefits from automation:
The top priority is streamlining internal workflows while minimising human error.
Barriers to adoption
Most commonly cited challenges:
- Insufficient staff resources
- No extra budget
- Concerns about client experience or confidentiality
- Complexity of integrating with legacy systems
- Low ROI for highly customised services.
Several firms expressed reluctance to automate legal judgment tasks and emphasised retaining the "human touch" where it matters most.
Future automation plans
High-interest areas for next-stage automation include:
- Cost estimation & invoice generation
- Drafting of applications and responses
- Automated docketing of deadlines
- Automated communication with clients
- Reporting on prosecution stages
Administrative and repetitive processes remain the most viable targets for near-term automation.
Quality control measures
To maintain high standards in automated processes, firms use:
- Daily/weekly error logs and manual review
- Random case audits
- Pre-send approvals for automated messages
- Role-based checks before filing or invoicing.
Most firms prefer a human-in-the-loop model, blending automation with legal oversight.
Measuring success
The top metrics used by firms to evaluate automation:
Productivity and client service quality are viewed as the best indicators of value.
FICPI’s potential role in the future
Respondents offered a number of suggestions, including:
- Offer workshops, tool comparisons and case studies
- Provide a shared repository of vetted tools
- Advocate for automation-enabling APIs from IP offices
- Facilitate collaboration between small and large firms
- Share cost/benefit guides for automation tools
Particularly for smaller firms, FICPI is seen as a key enabler of access to expertise and resources.
Conclusion: strategic automation is the way forward
With over 80 IP law firms completing our survey about their automation journey, one message is clear: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but the trend toward automation is accelerating.
- Basic steps like email indexing and deadline tracking are well underway.
- Complex tasks like IDS preparation, invoicing, and client reporting are the next frontier.
- The legal profession is balancing risk with innovation, maintaining integrity and confidentiality while seeking efficiency.
As more firms exchange knowledge and tools, automation in IP law is shifting from experimental to essential.
Next steps
>> 2025 FICPI World Congress delegates may join the PMC Workshop 6 on "Automation of workflow: easing the burden" on Tuesday 14 October.
The workshop leaders are:
- Chris Bird, Partner, FPA Patent Attorneys (AU), FICPI PMC committee
- Vikrant Rana, Managing Partner, S.S. Rana (IN), FICPI PMC Committee and FICPI Study & Work Committee - Group 1 Trade Marks
- Sini-Maaria Mikkila, Chief Strategy Officer & Partner, Boco IP (FI), FICPI PMC Committee and FICPI Study & Work Committee - Group 3 International Patent Matters.
The workshop is an ideal opportunity to discuss the important topic of automating workflows in an IP firm, involving using software to perform and streamline repetitive tasks within the application process, such as document generation, filing and receiving communications from IP offices, data entry, status updates, client communication and deadline reminders.
Getting this right has the potential to significantly improve efficiency, accuracy, speed and client service in almost everything we do. But the challenges can be equally significant, arising from factors including lack of integration in the systems we use, training requirements, security and compliance issues, and the need to rethink our overall workflow processes.
>> If you are interested in this topic, FICPI’s Practice Management Committee (PMC) is inviting you to join its Technology group to follow the trends, understand what's at stake, and contribute. Please contact PMC’s President: [email protected]
>>Look out for the detailed automation survey analysis, to published after the FICPI World Congress on the PMC portal.