Paul Roberts: Veteran IP Counsel Navigates AI, Patent Strategy, and Emerging Tech Legalities

Paul Roberts serves as Senior Intellectual Property Counsel for GEICO, bringing more than 22 years of experience at the intersection of law, emerging technologies, and innovation. Throughout his career, Roberts has worked across federal agencies, Fortune 100 companies, and startups, developing and leading impactful intellectual property strategies.

His expertise spans patent prosecution, artificial intelligence counseling, and managing complex technology transactions. Roberts has prosecuted over 200 patents, demonstrating a deep understanding of the patent landscape in software and AI domains.

In his current role, Roberts advises on cutting-edge intellectual property issues, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, open source software, and branding. He guides cross-functional teams through the complexities of IP risk and defends against patent assertion entities, ensuring robust protection for his organization’s innovations.

Roberts is also recognized for his practical approach to IP challenges, emphasizing clarity and efficiency. He has negotiated multimillion-dollar deals and provided training to both legal and technical teams on topics such as open-source compliance and trade secret protection.

A notable development in the field of AI and intellectual property occurred in 2025, when three federal courts addressed the question of whether machines can legally learn from copyrighted works. The cases—Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence, Bartz v. Anthropic, and Kadrey v. Meta Platforms—applied the four-factor fair use test under 17 U.S.C. §107 to the practice of large-scale model training.

These rulings collectively establish the first substantive legal framework for evaluating the intersection of copyright law and machine learning, a critical area for practitioners like Roberts who operate at the forefront of AI innovation and IP law.

Roberts’ career reflects a commitment to navigating the evolving challenges of intellectual property in technology-driven industries, making him a key figure in shaping legal strategies around AI and patent law.