The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched a public consultation on artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property (IP) policy, inviting feedback on a draft paper designed to help define the most-pressing questions likely to face IP policy makers.

The draft paper can be downloaded here:

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Be it self-driving cars, industry 4.0 or digital business models nobody even thought of only a few years ago: The stage is set for AI to change our life. Yet, this poses huge challenges to the IP system as we know it today.

AI is actually inventing technical solutions to technical problems. Yet, the IP5 offices only accept human inventors for patent applications. The EPO most recently rejected two applications where AI had been identified as the inventor; see here.

On the other hand, a Chinese court recently ruled that AI-written texts are copyright protected. A Shenzen Court ruled in favor of the tech giant Tencent, that their AI Dreamwriter, which produces articles on finance and business, has certain originality making its articles copyright protectable. Tencent is known for the successful implementation of AI in their business models, e.g. the use of AI generated ads, which is also patent protected.

Wouldn’t it make sense to accept non-human inventors also for technical inventions, i.e. with respect to patents?

This is your chance to have your say, to guide policy makers. The consultation is still ongoing until February 14,2020. Submit your responses here:

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