Most legal tech patents in 2019 were filed by China-based applicants, according to a new Thomson Reuters report. China’s dominance in legal tech patents is likely to continue as its government encourages court innovation and artificial intelligence maintains a significant role in legal tech software.

Such online court tech patents are greatly needed in China because legal tech is heavily relied on in the county to mitigate a national lawyer shortage, said Pillsbury partner and Taiwan practice co-head David Tsai.

“[China] doesn’t have enough lawyers for all citizens. In terms of having legal technology ready for their citizens, I think it enables more representation before the courts,” he said. “They need it. It’s not because it’s a competition. They need it in order for their legal system to work with the amount of legal professionals they have.”

Shortage aside, the development of China’s criminal, civil and commercial law framework in the late 1970s and early 1980s has also allowed the Chinese government to take a more modern approach to legal service delivery, Tsai added.

“The rule of law is so relatively new that there’s so much flexibility to change with the times and they realize technology is advancing so quickly. They’re taking the opportunity because their system is so young and they have the ability to create a modern legal system. I think that’s what’s happening, that’s why we see so many legal tech filings,” he said.

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