Overview
Until recently, artificial intelligence (AI) sounded like science fiction. But it is now a reality, and its importance only continues to grow in the business world.
Machine learning, machine perception, problem solving, language processing and big data analytics are just some of the examples of how AI affects our daily lives, and self-driving cars, smart-homes and advanced robotics are soon to be part of our regular experience. Many businesses are struggling to integrate AI and to address how it will affect their business and legal planning.
Our AI team has members located across the country providing effective, timely and practical advice, to help you make the most of developing AI technologies. We deliver a full suite of legal services in the area, including AI development and implementation strategies, obtaining and enforcing IP rights for AI technologies, data and cloud security, privacy assessments for AI and big data use, licensing, service and purchase agreements for AI products (including blockchain), SaaS agreements and AI-related risk and liability assessments, as well as financing and M&A in the AI sector.
Our offering
- Cross-practice solutions: AI challenges aren’t confined to the software industry, as AI will affect almost every type of business in the future. AI is already front-of-mind for industries including energy, healthcare, automotive, robotics, financial services, entertainment and more. Our interdisciplinary team is dedicated to supporting clients in every aspect of AI creation and implementation. Our lawyers use their diverse expertise to help businesses take advantage of the exciting developments in this field while protecting them from the risks associated with it.
- Plugged-in professionals: Our team is at the forefront of AI laws and regulations, constantly tracking developments and disputes in this area so that we can keep you up to date and informed. This will reduce your risk of exposure to potential pitfalls in protecting your AI IP, avoiding infringement of third party AI IP, employee AI policies, using collected data, and ensuring that your use of AI is properly addressed in agreements and transactions.
- Regulatory expertise: AI is having a huge impact on many areas of law, and in some cases the legal guidelines are just beginning to take shape. Privacy, cybersecurity, ethics, and IP ownership laws are closely connected with the use of AI. Our lawyers can assess the risks that your business faces in these areas and help you create policies, processes and contracts that are in-line with AI laws as they develop. Our cyber security team can also assist with the creation of internal policies and processes to protect your data from ongoing threats and to react to data breaches.
- Steady hands: Anyone who engages with news media – whether online or old-school – knows that AI issues attract attention. Sensational headlines and scare stories abound, but our calm, strategic experts can help you cut through the noise and determine exactly what you need to know in order to successfully deploy AI in line with your overall business goals.
Notable Matters
- Counsel to a client in preparing patent applications for technology related to computer vision, artificial neural networks and computational medical imaging.
- Counsel to a client on patent work relating to a robotic arm that functions in relation to muscle pulses.
- Counsel to a client in preparing patent applications for technology that utilize learning algorithms, such as a 3D VR environment for improving memory and method of tracking an forecasting position of marine vessels.
- Counsel to a client in preparing patent application for a device that functions as a companion and can learn speech, questions, entertainment choices of the person to whom the device provides companionship.
- Counsel to Kitchener, Ontario-based software developer Knowledgehook in securing $1.25 million in seed financing to fund the platform’s expansion into global markets.
- Counsel to Thalmic Labs Inc., a company that makes revolutionary wearable technologies that will fundamentally change the way we interact with computers, in the negotiation of a US$120 million Series B financing led by Intel Capital, The Amazon Alexa Fund and Fidelity Investments Canada.
