This article appeared in The Intellectual Property Strategist, an ALM/Law Journal Newsletters publication that provides a practical source of both business and litigation tactics in the fast-changing area of intellectual property law, including litigating IP rights, patent damages, venue and infringement issues, inter partes review, trademarks on social media – and more.

This two-part article sheds light on several important aspects of patents on AI technology. In Part One, we provide a general overview of the IBM v. Zillow lawsuit and discusses strategies to diversify patent portfolios to maximize protection on AI-related technology. Part Two will focus on providing insightful tips on claim drafting, informed by the intricacies of claims in IBM's AI patents and advancements in AI technology.

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Executive Overview

IBM sued Zillow in September 2019, alleging infringement of seven IBM patents directed to artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for estimating property value. 2:20cv851 (W.D. Wash.) The lawsuit targeted Zillow's Zestimate service, which estimates a house's value using downloaded images of the house and neighborhood. IBM brought the litigation after three years of licensing negotiations broke down between the parties. While the infringement case is still ongoing, the Federal Circuit issued a decision to an intermediate appeal seeking invalidity of several IBM patents. IBM v. Zillow Grp., Inc., 50 F.4th 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2022).