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ARTICLE · 09 AUGUST 2019

Intellectual Property And Artificial Intelligence In The UK

Gowling WLG
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The front line intellectual property rights for AI and big data are patents, copyright, the sui generis database right and trade secrets.

United KingdomIntellectual Property
Matt Hervey
Matt Hervey
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The front line intellectual property rights for AI and big data are patents, copyright, the sui generis database right and trade secrets. These are discussed in more detail below. Patents, copyright and the sui generis database right are not always suited to protect AI or data. In all cases, confidentiality should be carefully preserved and suitable contractual arrangements put in place.

Complexities in protecting for AI and big data do not seem to have dampened R&D. In many industries, the current investments in AI may owe less to the incentives of intellectual property ownership and more to intense competition. The car industry, in particular, is in a headlong race, involving incumbents and tech-focused new entrants, to achieve the winning "platform" business model for "mobility as a service".

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