National Intellectual Property Administration: Using agents like OpenClaw to draft patent application documents or induce multiple risks

Ask AI · What legal consequences could arise from using AI to draft patents?

The National Intellectual Property Administration today (April 1) issued a risk alert. It said that agent tools such as OpenClaw (“Lobster,” formerly known as Clawdbot and Moltbot) were exposed for having fragile default security configurations that can easily lead to serious security risks. At the same time, using such agent tools to draft patent application documents may also trigger multiple risks.

The National Intellectual Property Administration advises:

“Technical information leakage” risk: Agents such as OpenClaw have risks such as overly broad permissions, security vulnerabilities, and plugin poisoning. Using them to draft application documents can easily cause core information such as the technical disclosure to leak. Once leaked, the patent application’s technical solution may fail to be authorized due to the loss of novelty, and it may even be filed by someone else first, causing major losses to the applicant. In addition, the patent agency would also need to bear liability for breach and compensation.

“Substantive defect” risk: When using such agent tools to draft application documents, “AI hallucinations” may occur. This can result in the application documents containing logical contradictions, unclear descriptions of technical features, and other issues, thereby preventing the application from obtaining protection.

“Non-genuine application” risk: Patent applications formed by having the agent generate content out of thin air, randomly fabricate information, or piece together text, constitute non-genuine patent application behavior that violates the principle of good faith and honest dealing. If the number reaches a certain level, the applicant will face administrative penalties such as warnings and fines. Patent agencies and patent agents will face administrative penalties such as revocation of practice licenses and cancellation of agency qualification certificates. If the circumstances are serious, they will be included in the list of entities with serious violations and dishonesty.

To prevent risks and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of all parties, the National Intellectual Property Administration has advised: Applicants need to strengthen risk awareness, carefully choose compliant patent agency services, and proactively learn about and confirm whether the patent agency uses agent tools to draft application documents. If it is found that a patent agency has used relevant tools without authorization, causing information leakage or constituting non-genuine application behavior, the applicant may file a complaint and report and require the agency to compensate for losses according to law.

Patent agencies and patent agents must be highly alert to the risks of using agent tools, completely prohibit the use of agent tools to carry out non-genuine patent applications, and effectively protect the lawful rights and interests of their clients.