Transforming Patent Drafting with AI Agents

Patent drafting isn’t just a writing task. It’s a translation process — from technical innovation into legal language, from abstract ideas into structured claims, and from design intent into enforceable protection.

That process often depends on two different kinds of contributors: technical innovators and legal experts. While both bring essential perspectives, the workflow between them is often slow, fragmented, and error-prone. We’ve seen that firsthand, across corporate R&D teams, startup inventors, and IP law firms.

At NovitAI, we’re building tools that reduce friction in this process — starting with an AI-powered Word Add-in that helps both inventors and attorneys draft patents faster, without changing how they already work.

The Challenges Faced by Innovators

Technical experts — engineers, researchers, product designers — are closest to the invention. But they often face obstacles when it comes to capturing those ideas in a form that legal teams can use.

Invention disclosures are written informally, without the structure needed for patent filings.
Important implementation details, alternatives, and use cases get left out.
Legal terminology and formatting requirements are unfamiliar, creating a barrier to participation.
By the time a disclosure is reviewed, context has been lost.

As a result, promising ideas are delayed or under-documented. This creates risk for the organization and extra work for the legal team.

The Challenges Faced by Patent Professionals

Patent attorneys and agents bring essential legal knowledge — but they often work with incomplete or ambiguous input from technical teams.

Raw disclosures require significant restructuring before drafting can begin.
Multiple rounds of clarification slow down the filing process.
Repetitive boilerplate, claim formatting, and diagram generation take up valuable time.
Maintaining consistency across drafters and portfolios is hard, especially under deadline.

These inefficiencies can reduce throughput and affect the quality of the final application.

A Shared Workspace Inside Microsoft Word

Rather than introduce a new tool or platform, we focused on improving the tool that patent professionals already use: Microsoft Word.

The NovitAI Drafting Assistant is a Word Add-in designed to support both sides of the process — the technical inventor and the legal drafter — in one shared environment.

Here’s what it enables:

Inventors can structure raw ideas into formal disclosures, using guided inputs and templates.
Attorneys can generate or edit claims, populate full templates, and refine the draft without leaving Word.
Both can view, insert, or revise diagrams generated from descriptions.
Optional AI suggestions can help identify gaps, clarify concepts, or flag potential prior art.

This approach doesn’t change the workflow — it just reduces the overhead.

What the Add-in Does

Disclosure Structuring: Converts unstructured notes into sections like background, summary, and detailed description.
Claim Generation: Suggests first-draft independent and dependent claims from technical descriptions.
Diagram Assistant: Generates basic schematic diagrams or flowcharts from system or method descriptions.
Template Filling: Populates pre-approved patent templates with consistent language and formatting.
Prior Art Search (Optional): Uses AI to flag potentially relevant references for early visibility.

Secure, Configurable, and Built for Real Use

The add-in can be deployed in secure environments, including on-premise or private cloud setups. It’s designed for firms and organizations that handle sensitive material and require full control over their drafting process.

It supports:

Word’s native editing and review features (track changes, comments, styles)
Integration with firm-specific templates or internal IP documentation
Multiple jurisdictions and claim styles (e.g., US, EP, PCT)

The AI does not replace legal oversight. It’s a tool to help teams get to a better draft, faster — and with fewer cycles of back-and-forth.

Moving Toward Better Collaboration

When inventors and attorneys have the right tools, patent drafting becomes less of a bottleneck and more of a shared process.

Engineers can contribute earlier and more confidently. Attorneys can focus on strategy and refinement, rather than formatting or rewriting. Teams move faster — and file stronger, more accurate applications.

We believe this is how the future of patent work should look: integrated, practical, and built for how people already work today.