Montreal AI Ethics Institute's (MAIEI) Submission to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Conversation on Intellectual Property (IP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Second Session

TL;DR

This paper argues that granting AI exclusive intellectual property rights is unjustified and potentially harmful, emphasizing the need to update IP laws to better reflect human authorship and AI's role.

Contribution

It critically examines the implications of AI-generated inventions on current IP law and proposes strategies for reforming IP protections to better serve human inventors.

Findings

AI exclusive IP rights are unjustified and problematic

Current IP laws do not adequately address AI-generated works

Recommendations for updating IP law to reflect AI's role

Abstract

This document posits that, at best, a tenuous case can be made for providing AI exclusive IP over their "inventions". Furthermore, IP protections for AI are unlikely to confer the benefit of ensuring regulatory compliance. Rather, IP protections for AI "inventors" present a host of negative externalities and obscures the fact that the genuine inventor, deserving of IP, is the human agent. This document will conclude by recommending strategies for WIPO to bring IP law into the 21st century, enabling it to productively account for AI "inventions". Theme: IP Protection for AI-Generated and AI-Assisted Works Based on insights from the Montreal AI Ethics Institute (MAIEI) staff and supplemented by workshop contributions from the AI Ethics community convened by MAIEI on July 5, 2020.