The IP In AI: Can IP Rights Protect AI Systems?

With the expanding popularity of ML and AI systems, developers and investors expect those systems to be protected from unauthorised use by others.

Providing suitable protection to encourage and reward investment in the creation of intellectual property – but balancing that against the rights of the public to use those creations – is one of the core aims of the intellectual property system. Striking this balance correctly has proved difficult in this emerging area of technology, and considerable uncertainty remains in legal systems around the world as to the extent of protection afforded to ML and AI systems.

Part of our series The IP in AI.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• For new and inventive AI systems and methods, patent protection is theoretically available. However, obtaining patent protection for computer-implemented inventions (CII) such as AI systems has been met with differing levels of success in different jurisdictions, and this remains the subject of