Author: Anjali Raj B.A.,LL.B (Hons.)
Intellectual property is a broader term for an amorphous bundle of rights. Over the last few years, Artificial intelligence has gained enormous traction and is one such domain in which IP law can be employed. It is a bubble because it uses artificial neural networks to make data-driven judgments, which necessitates the employment of solid algorithms. In the case of Siri and Alexa, machine learning algorithms are used to comprehend commands. Conversely, Amazon uses continuous estimating machine learning to assess what individuals buy, resulting in personalized suggestions for customers. Artificial intelligence can be complex at times since it accumulates a lot of data and information about a certain issue before employing it to create a personalized, targeted advertisement. In the future, it will be able to perform everything that an individual can do, potentially much more. The most contentious issue, even so, is the current ambiguity encompassing artificial intelligence, which has both advantages and pitfalls.
Similarly, due to it being such a complex subject, whenever emerging technologies are involved, the law inevitably suffers. AI raises challenging moral questions as well as concerns regarding data sharing and intellectual property. Given that AI proves to be both an advantage and a potential threat to intellectual property, it is evident that it will have an impact on this area of law. The main issue that evolves is as to who owns the right, to what extent, and under what laws.
COPYRIGHT IN THE AGE OF AI
Emerging technology has existed since the nineteenth century, and many innovations have upset the status quo and the Copyright law. Additionally, the pace of technological advancement currently is accelerating unpredictably. Technological advancement has its own pros and cons. The internet poses significant issues; the current web 2.0 era includes a slew of social networking sites and platforms that allow users to consume and generate content. Because online activities generate a large quantity of data, it is a severe concern in the web 2.0 era, and AI is becoming more prevalent these days to deal with text and data. As a result, technology was used not only to access but also to control material.
Moreover, it is for this reason that digital rights management exists. Content creators are making considerable efforts to manage the consumption of data. Civil society has pushed hard for copyright protection to be expanded internationally, such as through the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The junction of AI and Copyright has continued for many years; earlier, there has never been a disagreement as to who owns the copyright to work. Because the program or machine was used only as a tool to create the work, the work belonged entirely to the programmer. However, as AI advances and we make robots with human intelligence capable of creating unique work on their own, the topic of who will own the copyright is in debate. Within the scope of AI, machine learning refers to feeding data to a computer or program so that the AI machine can produce original work that is not dependent on humans. There are no explicit regulations or procedures in place, and one must establish them because there is a significant likelihood of disagreement in this area regarding who owns the copyright and to what extent. Nonetheless, the Indian copyright office has acknowledged an artificial intelligence tool – the RAGHAV Artificial Intelligence Painting App – as a co-author of a copyright-protected artistic work for the first time. Despite this, India has yet to build a legislative structure that supports copyright protection for AI.
AI AND PATENT
The interface of Artificial Intelligence and Patent Laws is now gaining traction. On the patent front, there was no case anywhere in the world about whether the artificial intelligence-generated patentable subject matter may be protected- in some, but not all, jurisdictions without a traditional human inventor. Protecting artificial intelligence inventions will encourage people to utilize and construct machines leading to practical societal innovation. Moreover, it will allow firms to sell novel concepts like drugs that emerge out of AI where they previously couldn't, even if AI could legally be a patent inventor but not the patent owner because it lacks any legal personality. South Africa was the first country to grant a patent to an AI-generated invention.
As artificial intelligence (AI) grows more familiar and ubiquitous and replaces regular researchers in large areas of discovery, the source of standards used to grant patents will shift. The Artificial Intelligence phenomenon of stepping into the shoes of humans is fascinating for those not involved in Artificial Intelligence. Intellectual Property law is a somewhat tricky field in which the law interprets human and machine behavior very differently and might have unintended repercussions. Many benefits of AI deployment exist, particularly in drug discovery, clearly speeding up drug development. However, a frequently asked subject is whether the patent system speeds up machine inventions. The advancement of artificial intelligence is now at a point where it cannot be halted. However, it would be good to collect data before speeding up the shift to AI development by granting patent rights to machine ideas. Taking into account the Indian law to acknowledge an AI system as an inventor, the Patent Act 1970 and the Patent Rules of 2017 must be modified, and the term "inventor" must be explicitly defined, with AI systems included in the definition.
Furthermore, AI systems are not yet sophisticated and intuitive enough to be regarded as sole inventors. The development of AI is still in its infancy. Until then, AI's status as an inventor in India will remain ambiguous. Some countries are leaning toward a better legislative solution because it gives them more stability. As a result, patents have proven to be the best option for boosting and encouraging AI innovation, but they require further protection and handling as a trade asset.
CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that AI will surely advance steadily every day. It is complex to consider the effects of the technologies, what the law should be doing, and what regulations will best help to safeguard AI. Whether text and data mining and AI training should be considered fair use or subject to copyright protection is one of the essential concerns in AI and intellectual property. Reexamining our current laws and revising them to be more effective is urgently needed to reap the benefits of technology without violating our rights.