In March, we told you about Recommind’s new predictive coding website, which provides online resources dedicated to explaining and demonstrating Recommind’s predictive coding capabilities for expedited document review. This week, Recommind received a patent for its predictive coding process, a move that gives Recommind, its customers and its partners exclusive rights to use, host and sell systems and processes for iterative, computer-expedited document review.
The Importance of a Patent
While obtaining a patent is more about time and resources than it is about innovation, Recommind’s patent is definitely symbolic, as it marks them as an industry leader in advanced e-Discovery, compliance, records management and information governance processes and capabilities for years to come. As well, predictive coding boosts the manual process of document review by providing computerized assistance, which not only saves time, money and energy, but is exceedingly accurate at categorizing, prioritizing documents no matter how much data there is.
via Recommind Patents Predictive Coding, Secures Future of e-Discovery.
Predictive Coding Patented, E-Discovery World Gets Jealous « Above the Law: A Legal Tabloid – News and Colorful Commentary on Law Firms and the Legal Profession
Yesterday, I spoke to Craig Carpenter, Recommind’s General Counsel and Vice President of Marketing, about the news and his competitors’ reactions.
He wanted to make clear that the actual predictive coding technology pertains to only a third of the business process patent. It also covers workflow and processes, to ensure the whole thing runs consistently, reliably and defensibly every time. The technical term for Recommind’s patented technology is a particular type of “iterative, computer-expedited document review.”
Recommind doesn’t have a trademark to the words “predictive coding,” he said.
Carpenter also noted that the patent cleared in late April. The news was only announced yesterday, however, as the first of several related and ongoing patent applications. LTN speculates this is all an indication of an upcoming IPO.
As for the “push back” from competitors, Carpenter said he doesn’t think anyone will challenge the patents in court.
“We’ve been the pioneer in this for several years,” he said. “We developed this with the backing of several Am Law 30 firms.”
Carpenter told me he hopes the patent will clarify the way e-discovery vendors package their services. He hopes it will make it easier for customers to know what they’re getting.
Carpenter says some competitors provide “completely different” technology, such as clustering or email threading, and have thus far called it predictive coding. They will no longer be able to package it as such.
The obvious benefit to Recommind is that anyone who wants to employ predictive coding in e-discovery will basically have to put Recommind, or one of its licensees, on their prospective-vendor shortlist.
via Predictive Coding Patented, E-Discovery World Gets Jealous « Above the Law: A Legal Tabloid – News and Colorful Commentary on Law Firms and the Legal Profession.