IP in the Age of AI : A Chat With Former Patent Judge Kit Crumbley
By Cassandre Coyer November 17 , 2023
After spending over a decade at the U . S . Patent and Trademark Office and another 10 years at the Department of Justice , Christopher “ Kit ” Crumbley decided to take his insider knowledge to Bracewell . Crumbley joined the firm ’ s intellectual property ( IP ) litigation team as its newest partner on Oct . 23 , at a time where uncertainty in the IP space may hit a new all-time high .
Over the past few decades , Crumbley served in various government positions including as an administrative patent judge with the U . S . Patent and Trademark Office ’ s ( PTO ) Patent Trial and Appeal Board ( PTAB ), a lead administrative patent judge , and a trial attorney with the Intellectual Property Section of the DOJ ’ s Civil Division .
Below , Legaltech News caught up with Crumbley to discuss how the PTAB ’ s strategy has evolved , the role of indemnifications in the age of artificial intelligence ( AI ) and how patent law may answer some of the questions around generative AI . This interview was edited for length and clarity .
Legaltech News : After serving in the U . S . Patent and Trademark Office , what perspective do you hope to bring Bracewell that can be valuable during this uncertain IP / AI time ?
Crumbley : I ’ ve been practicing IP law my entire career , which I guess is about 23 years now . But most of that has been within the government . … For the last six or seven years of that , I was in the management of the PTAB … I started to see a little bit of both the procedural framework that we use within the PTO start to evolve but then also a greater involvement in the policy side of things for the agency .
Christopher “ Kit ” L . Crumbley of Bracewell .
A lot of the change in IP these days I feel like is being driven by the PTO . There was a Supreme Court decision a couple years ago that gave the director of the patent office increased oversight over the PTAB … and that has slowly started to roll out . As that has gone forward , it ’ s something that I feel like there isn ’ t as much knowledge outside of the agency about what that looks like for clients . … Helping clients navigate both PTAB practice , but then also how that interplays with district court litigation , because a vast majority of times you have dual track proceedings in both the PTAB and the district court going at the same time , and how you navigate those requires a little bit of strategic thinking .
As companies await clarity from regulatory bodies and courts alike on how AI affects IP law , how do you advise clients ? Are there any actionable steps that can be taken during this time ?
Courtesy photo