Vertically Applied AI
Building on foundation models doesn't mean you have no moat. From vertical SaaS adding AI features to companies building sophisticated AI orchestration, there are patentable innovations in how you apply AI to solve domain-specific problems.
Key Considerations
Critics claim AI wrappers have no defensibility because anyone can call the same APIs. But this ignores the genuine innovation in how companies orchestrate, customize, and apply AI to domain-specific problems.
Even if you're building on GPT-4 or Claude, your specific implementation may include patentable innovations—particularly in how you solve domain-specific challenges that foundation models alone cannot.
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The 'AI wrappers have no moat' critique misses a crucial point: patents can protect the novel orchestration, prompt engineering, and system design that make wrapper products valuable. Here's how.
If you're a vertical SaaS company integrating AI capabilities, your domain-specific implementations may be more patentable than you think. Here's how to identify and protect your innovations.
Sophisticated prompt chains and AI orchestration systems represent genuine technical innovation. Learn when these systems cross the threshold from trade secrets to patentable inventions.
I help software companies identify patentable innovations in their AI implementations and build IP strategies that create real competitive moats—even when building on foundation models.
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