What mattersShow
- The platform’s new features aim to reduce common patent-related workloads from days of manual research down to minutes.
- Primary sector: Fintech & Financial Operations
- Open the company page to keep the follow-up signal in view.
IP software startup Clerq, formerly NLPatent, has rebranded its services while rolling out an agentic AI overhaul designed for legal teams grappling with patent backlogs. The move arrives amid a global surge in complex intellectual property filings; the World Intellectual Property Organization reported over 56,000 new patent families related to generative AI published in 2024 and 2025 alone.
The company’s co-founder, Stephanie Curcio, noted that while Canadian patent applications have remained flat year over year, global backlogs are mounting. She emphasized that the increasing length and complexity of modern patents, some expanding from four pages to thirty or more, are creating significant delays for inventors waiting on status updates.
IP legal operations must now evaluate if AI-powered triage assessments can reliably replace initial manual screening processes for complex, high-volume filings.
To address this capacity strain, Clerq is enhancing its proprietary research engine with agentic workflows. These new tools include an AI triage assessment for screening inventions and a patentability report that gauges whether an invention warrants protection given existing records. The platform also integrates services from RPX Corporation and Park IP to streamline risk management and global filing.
Clerq, which serves corporate in-house teams and major law firms like Gowling WLG, stated the new system significantly accelerates several common patent research tasks. Furthermore, the addition of Michael Chernoff to its executive team is intended to bolster enterprise sales support and guide future product development.
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