Manuela Weixlbaumer: "A key challenge with AI is managing differing regulatory and technological developments across the world"

Leaders League: How has your work in the field of Intellectual Property evolved since joining Keba in 2017?

Manuela Weixlbaumer: The role of intellectual property has evolved significantly in recent years - from a purely legal and technical cross-functional topic to a strategic business discipline.

For us, this particularly means a stronger international focus. Requirements in trademark and patent law differ substantially across markets, for example between Europe, the United States, and Asia. These differences require careful coordination and a strong understanding of the respective legal frameworks.

At the same time, the work remains highly interdisciplinary. In addition to legal expertise, it is essential to have a solid technical understanding and the ability to integrate different perspectives. Within our team, we are deliberately set up in a broad and diverse way. Increasingly important are also soft skills – in particular the ability to embrace change and anticipate what the business will need.

The use of AI is also transforming our work: many processes become more efficient, but at the same time the need to assess developments early and provide strategic guidance is growing.

IP is therefore no longer just about protection – it has become an active contributor to the company’s development.

Does artificial intelligence already play a major role in your daily work?

Yes, artificial intelligence is clearly a key focus - both within our product portfolio and in our daily work.

While KEBA used to be strongly hardware-driven, software and AI are now an additional major pillar. With the establishment of KEBA Digital GmbH, we have created a dedicated structure to reflect this development. We are therefore working intensively on how to leverage these technologies effectively while ensuring compliance with the relevant legal frameworks.

We also actively use AI in our daily work, for example to support analysis and research processes. At the same time, we clearly see that while AI can improve efficiency, it cannot replace human judgment when it comes to understanding context and assessing risks.

From my perspective, company culture plays a key role as well. At KEBA, the topic is strongly driven by our top management, and this mindset is well received across the organization. Change is most successful when people understand why it is happening and what value it creates.

 What do you see as the biggest challenge in IP over the next five years?

One of the key challenges will be managing the differing regulatory and technological developments across the world.

While Europe, with frameworks such as the AI Act, places a strong emphasis on fundamental rights, other regions follow a more technology-driven and market-oriented approach. For internationally active companies, this means navigating multiple regulatory regimes at the same time.

From an IP perspective, the growing importance of AI will also bring new questions. Issues such as whether AI can be considered an inventor, the protectability of AI-generated content, or the increasing number of trademarks show that established concepts will need to evolve. For example, it is becoming increasingly difficult to successfully position pure word marks, as the trademark landscape is becoming more saturated and AI often generates similar naming proposals. With a structured and consistent brand strategy, however, it is still possible to create clear advantages. Gladly, KEBA uses the concept of series marks, so we are not that much affected by these changes.

At the same time, global markets are becoming more complex. There is no longer a single core market, there are several – companies need to diversify and make their IP strategies more flexible.

The overall challenge will be to balance regulatory requirements, technological development, and business needs without losing speed in innovation. To address these challenges, I rely on a well‑established IP team at KEBA that supports me in tackling them.

Sophie Stevenard