Generative AI & Intellectual Property - Protection & Liability

Introduction

Assuming a working knowledge of IP law and practice, this special five-hour course will consider in particular:

• The extent to which ‘genuinely’ AI-created works and AI-devised inventions may presently be able to attract IP protection in the UK
• Liability for infringement by using AI-generated content (text, images, sound, etc.) and, ideally, the need for due diligence before using such content

What You Will Learn

This course will cover the following:

• What is an AI generated work or invention in practice?
• The differences between a ‘genuinely’ AI generated work and a computer-generated work (‘CGW’). Making effective use of the grey area between them for IP purposes
• The apparent reasons for denying IP protection in certain circumstances under present UK law and practice. The December 2023 decision in Thaler v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks - how wide might this Supreme Court’s decision be?
• Present UK IPO practice
• The major copyright issue of training by AI engines. Identifying if a work may have been trained by an AI-generative company. Ways to minimise a work from being trained?
• Liability for Infringement - if an AI-generated work or invention were an infringing one, who could be liable? A matter of concern following the success of AI-based generation facilities such as ‘Dall-E 2’/’Dall-E 3’, ‘Stable Diffusion’, ‘Midjourney’, Anthropic’s ‘Claude 2’, Microsoft’s Copilot and GitHub’s ‘Copilot’ programming assistance tool. Importance of reading their terms and conditions
• In brief, the need for additional due diligence before using AI-generated content in respect of hallucinations, accuracy, privacy and security
• The benefit of careful and timely record keeping for any project that might result in an arguably AI created work or devised invention
• Assignments and licences of AI-created works and inventions - new difficulties?
• A brief tour of the present practice on AI and IP in other jurisdictions including the USA. To what extent might overseas practice affect UK practice and legislation in the future?