IViR Study for European Commission on AI and IP

In a study for the European Commission, Bernt Hugenholtz, João Pedro Quintais and Daniel Gervais of the Institute for Information Law (IViR) have examined whether the current European rules in the field of intellectual property (IP) are suitable for creations and inventions produced with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI). According to the study, which was conducted in collaboration with the Joint Institute for Innovation Policy (JIIP) , the current state of AI does not yet allow for fully autonomous creation and invention by computer systems. In the short term, therefore, only limited changes to European copyright and patent law are needed. The conclusions of the report, which was officially published by the EU on November 25th, were adopted by the European Commission in the IP Action Plan that was submitted to the European Parliament and the Council on the same day.

Trends and Developments in Artificial Intelligence
Challenges to the Intellectual Property Rights Framework
Final Report
prepared by IViR & JIIP

Abstract:
This Report examines copyright and patent protection in Europe both for AI-assisted outputs in general and in three priority domains: science (in particular meteorology), media (journalism), and pharmaceutical research. The Report comprises two parts: an assessment of the state-of-the-art of uses of AI in the three focus areas and a legal analysis of how IP laws currently apply to AI-generated/assisted creative and innovative outputs.

The Report concludes that the current state of the art in AI does not require or justify immediate substantive changes in copyright and patent law in Europe. The existing concepts of copyright and patent law are sufficiently abstract and flexible to meet the current challenges from AI. In addition, producers of AI-assisted outputs have recourse to less demanding regimes, such as related (neighbouring) rights and sui generis database protection.

Here you can find the Table of Contents, Abstract and Executive Summary (in English and French) of the report.