Online Event
IP for AI Startups: How Founders Can Create a Defensible Moat
Learn from a former Patent Examiner how to protect your AI startup and build a defensible moat.
Date
Oct 26, 2026
Time
05:30 pm - 06:30 pm
Address
Online Event
AI can help you build a product in days. It can't stop someone from copying it. What protects an AI startup is ownership: the IP that makes what you've built yours and hard to copy. Yet many founders quietly give up that ownership in their first months, by posting progress, demoing early, or pitching before they've protected anything. In this fireside chat, Kathryn Vatt, a former U.S. Patent Examiner who reviewed thousands of applications, shows founders where ownership leaks and how to plug it early. You'll leave knowing what to protect, when it matters, and how to build a moat investors trust. Bring your questions.
Featured Speaker:
Kathryn Vatt — Former U.S. Patent Examiner; Founder of moatly™ and VATT IP Management
Kathryn is a former United States Patent Examiner with nearly 30 years of experience helping innovators protect what they build. After reviewing thousands of applications inside the Patent Office — seeing which succeeded, which failed, and why — she now helps early-stage founders become pitch-ready and IP-safe before they pitch, launch, or raise. She is the founder of moatly™ and VATT IP Management, Chapter Director of the Founder Institute IP Accelerator, and author of the forthcoming "Startup IP Strategy For Dummies" (Wiley, 2027). She has been recognized as the #1 global influencer in innovation and IP law.
What You'll Learn:
Kathryn Vatt — Former U.S. Patent Examiner; Founder of moatly™ and VATT IP Management
Kathryn is a former United States Patent Examiner with nearly 30 years of experience helping innovators protect what they build. After reviewing thousands of applications inside the Patent Office — seeing which succeeded, which failed, and why — she now helps early-stage founders become pitch-ready and IP-safe before they pitch, launch, or raise. She is the founder of moatly™ and VATT IP Management, Chapter Director of the Founder Institute IP Accelerator, and author of the forthcoming "Startup IP Strategy For Dummies" (Wiley, 2027). She has been recognized as the #1 global influencer in innovation and IP law.
What You'll Learn:
- Why a working AI product isn't a moat, and what actually makes one defensible
- The common ways founders give up ownership early, from posting progress to demoing MVPs
- What patent examiners really look for, and why "patent pending" isn't the protection founders assume
- How to check whether you're stepping into existing patent territory that could block your launch
- What sophisticated investors check on your IP before they write a check
- How to protect ownership early without slowing down or spending a fortune on lawyers
Who Should Attend:
- AI and tech founders building or posting in public without clear IP protection
- Founders preparing to pitch at demo days, accelerators, or to investors
- Technical founders who assume their innovation is automatically protected (it isn't)
- Anyone who wants investor-ready IP without a big legal budget
About Founder Institute:
The Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.
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