Intellectual Property Law Research Articles

AI and IP: Theory to Policy and Back Again – Policy and Research Recommendations at the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property

The interaction between artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights (IPRs) is one of the key areas of development in intellectual property law. After much, albeit selective, debate, it seems to be gaining increasing practical relevance through intense AI-related market activity, an initial set of case law on the matter, and policy initiatives by international organizations and lawmakers. Against this background, Zurich University’s Center for Intellectual Property and Competition Law is conducting, together with the Swiss Intellectual Property Institute, a research and policy project that explores the future of intellectual property law in an AI context. This paper briefly describes the AI/IP Research Project and presents an initial set of policy recommendations for the development of IP law with a view to AI. The recommendations address topics such as AI inventorship in patent law; AI authorship in copyright law; the need for sui generis rights to protect innovative AI output; rules for the allocation of AI-related IPRs; IP protection carve-outs in order to facilitate AI system development, training, and testing; the use of AI tools by IP offices; and suitable software protection and data usage regimes.

Artificial intelligence as an authority for testing the inventive step of an invention—a view from Germany

Journal Article Artificial intelligence as an authority for testing the inventive step of an invention—a view from Germany Get access Thomas Heinz Meitinger Thomas Heinz Meitinger Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, jpad054, https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpad054 Published: 20 June 2023 Article history Received: 23 March 2023 Editorial decision: 08 May 2023 Accepted: 17 May 2023 Corrected and typeset: 20 June 2023 Published: 20 June 2023

The sui generis right to non-original objects generated by a computer program: novelties of legal regulation

The article considers novel legal regulations regarding non-original objects generated by a computer program. It was established that at the level of the law, legal certainty was introduced regarding the legal regime of these objects: the concept and characteristics of a non-original object, generated by a computer program, subjects of property rights, the scope of such rights, their validity period, the possibility of transfer (alienation) were defined) of these rights, as well as an opportunity to properly protect such rights. The signs of a non-original object generated by a computer program are defined: difference from already existing similar objects; creation of an object solely as a result of the operation of a computer program without direct human participation. It has been proven that the independent legal personality of artificial intelligence is highly debatable, and this concept goes far beyond the boundaries of intellectual property law. It is justified that giving artificial intelligence an independent legal personality as of today is a hasty step, therefore the approach reflected in the law deserves attention.It is substantiated that the legal regime of an object that is non-original and that is generated by a computer program is very similar to the legal regime of a work as an object of copyright, which enables the relevant subjects to exercise and protect the rights to these objects. It was established that as a result of the creation of a non-original object generated by a computer program, personal non-property rights do not arise at all, and property rights belong to the owner of the property rights to the computer program that generated such an object. It has been proven that the property rights to a nonoriginal object are in fact identical to the property rights of the author (other subjects of property copyright), the scope of which is determined by Article 12 of the Copyright Law.It is established that when creating a non-original object generated by a computer program, one should observe the property rights to other non-original objects generated by a computer program, which are used in the process of generating a new non-original object; to objects of copyright and/or related rights that were used in the process of generating such non-original object.

Revisiting the patent regime of Bangladesh: compatibility with TRIPS and international best practices

Journal Article Revisiting the patent regime of Bangladesh: compatibility with TRIPS and international best practices Get access Mohammad Towhidul Islam, Mohammad Towhidul Islam Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sadman Rizwan Apurbo Sadman Rizwan Apurbo Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, jpad051, https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpad051 Published: 16 June 2023 Article history Received: 26 October 2022 Revision received: 07 February 2023 Editorial decision: 20 February 2023 Accepted: 11 May 2023 Corrected and typeset: 16 June 2023 Published: 16 June 2023

The content and meaning of the IT lawyer profession

The purpose of the article is to study the essence of the work of IT-lawyers, determine the directions of their activities, as well as reveal the main skills that such a specialist should be endowed with.
 Considering the trend of digitalization of society and the development of IT-companies based on this, we need to talk about the formation of a new direction of work IT Law as a scientific and practical field of interdisciplinary activity.
 Attention is focused on the fact that an IT-lawyer is not a highly specialized, but must combine knowledge and skills in completely different areas. Thus, taking into account the extraterritoriality of the information space, an IT-lawyer should have a perfect command of the methodology of legal comparativistics, know at least the national legislation, the basics of the legislation of the states with which his activities are connected through information communication, and international law in the relevant field. In other words, when entering into documents (user agreement, privacy policy, contract with a foreign company, etc.), an IT-lawyer must take into account the legislation of the country with which his client will cooperate.
 It is stated that, in addition to the actual IT Law, an IT-lawyer should have extensive knowledge of various branches and institutions of law. They cover at least Civil Law, Intellectual Property Law, Contract Law, Family Law, Inheritance Law, and so on.
 Other mandatory competencies of an IT-lawyer include managing risks associated with the use of digital technologies. This includes, in particular, the introduction of new systems of protection against cyber attacks; innovations in protection against copyright violations and personal data protection, and so on. In addition, the scope of special knowledge of an IT-lawyer can be expanded through the basics of programming, computer technology architecture, and foreign languages.
 It can be concluded that such a complication of the basic requirements for hard- and soft-skills of an IT-lawyer requires a comprehensive approach, which includes the creation of a separate specialization of the corresponding direction in universities, as well as the deepening of knowledge and practical skills among students through the development of legal clinics and laboratories of IT Law in collaboration with specialists in technical sciences.

Intellectual Property Law Aspects of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development: Where Is the Line Between Public and Private Interests?

Protection of the environment is regulated by numerous laws and bylaws, within legal areas. As regards regulations of an imperative nature, there is no doubt that these provisions represent the public interest and responsibility of the state to preserve and improve the environment. The paper examines the potential of private law rights to contribute to environmental protection and improvement, because the action of entities depends on the choice of whether to act or not in certain circumstances. To illustrate a possible contribution of private law in environmental protection matters, patent and indications of geographical origin have attracted attention. While trying to determine a particular connection between rights and environmental matters, it has become clear that significant improvement of environmental protection can be provided in a circular flow through different areas of law. Protecting and supporting private law rights is not detached from guarding the public interest. An examination of patent law potential should demonstrate that cooperation between scientific research institutions and industry is of primary concern in modern society. In practice, a number of issues obstruct successful cooperation; however, this is an opportunity for the state to encourage collaboration. A similar approach should be suggested in relation to indications of geographical origin. State and local governments should encourage recognition of indicators of geographical origin, attracted to localities of high environmental quality.

Pojedini patentnopravni aspekti primene veštačke inteligencije

Artificial intelligence represents a new page in worldwide technological development. This development infuences all scientifc felds, including law, especially intellectual property law, as a branch of the legal science. In the following paper, the author examines the infuence that artificial intelligence has on patent law. Not every aspect of this infuence is examined, but only those considering the emergence of the patent. Firstly, the defnition and application of artificial intelligence is examined, and then the patent law aspects of artificial intelligence application: artificial intelligence as an invention, artificial intelligence as an inventor, and artificial intelligence as an examiner. The aim of the paper is to describe and predict the future potential infuence that artificial intelligence has on emergence, prerequisites, and subjects of patent.

CONTRATOS E BLACK BOXING

This article briefly aims to address complementary notes about the contemporary contractual issues in the scenario between artificial intelligence and patents law; Therefore, the paper discusses insurance prerogatives in a comparative law perspective, investigating the work of the European commission on this matter; Further, the present work presents technical problems inherent to the AI and how this affects the conformation of legal structures such as civil liability, demonstrating the relevance of studying the interplay between intellectual property law and innovation as well as technology and contracts in emerging markets, concluding finally with the highlighting of the limitations of this article.

The impact of innovations in peer review on patent prosecution

Journal Article The impact of innovations in peer review on patent prosecution Get access Carsten D Richter, Carsten D Richter Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Christian W Scheiner Christian W Scheiner Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, jpad055, https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpad055 Published: 05 June 2023 Article history Received: 14 April 2023 Editorial decision: 08 May 2023 Accepted: 17 May 2023 Corrected and typeset: 05 June 2023 Published: 05 June 2023

Encouraging compliance with intellectual property law about film copyright among Vietnamese youth

Watching movies is one of the entertainment forms used by many people because of the convenience and relaxation that this activity brings. However, the phenomenon of watching movies without copyright or infringing intellec- tual property rights is quite common. Therefore, this study was conducted to contribute to promoting compliance with the copyright law of young people in Vietnam. Based on the questionnaire survey, the research has collected 247 valid responses aged 16-30 years old, across all three regions of the North, the Central, and the South of Vietnam. The survey was conducted over one month, from December 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The methods used are regression analysis, descriptive statistics. The results show that 7 variables have a positive and significant impact on the intention to watch copyrighted movies variable including Attitude, Subjective Standards, Risks, Moral, Costs, Ease of Use, and the Covid- 19 Pandemic. Through the obtained results, the authors would like to propose solutions- encouraging compliance with the copyright law of Vietnamese youth when choosing a film entertain- ment channel from a multi-dimensional perspective.

Commodification of intangibles in post-IP capitalism: rethinking the counter-hegemonic discourse

AbstractIntellectual property (IP) is the legal mechanism that transforms intangible instances into tradeable commodities. While creating the conditions for extraction of value and capital accumulation across all domains of economic and social life, IP law defines at the same time the boundaries of commodification by determining the scope of the public domain. Within this traditional framework, opponents of neo-liberal market expansionism have championed the role of IP doctrines and principles such as fair use, exceptions and limitations. However, new informational capitalism relies primarily on non-IP forms of appropriation and de facto control. To a large extent, commodification of intangibles and capital accumulation is no longer distressed by – and even benefits from – traditional public-domain-enhancing IP doctrines. This challenges traditional IP narratives and calls for a new foundation for a truly counter-hegemonic discourse in IP law.

Intellectual property protection for video games: A MDA framework-based analysis

The gap between video games and copyright, an intellectual property (IP) right, is that the doctrinal copyright theories cannot explain the nature of the gameplay and game rules. The lack of a theoretical framework addressing the gameplay comprising abstract ideas and specific expressions has caused much confusion and uncertainty in the games industry and among legal practitioners across jurisdictions. This article explores whether the gameplay, a core value of the game, should be protected by copyright, patent or not protected at all. It employs a novel analytical framework based on Hunicke et al.’s theory of mechanic–dynamics–aesthetics, a game-designing theory, to analyse the IP legal nature of the gameplay and game rules. Based on the proposed analytical framework, it conducts a case study of three representative games, from aesthetics to mechanics, to demonstrate that dynamics as the game system consists of expressions of the game designer. Considering the cross-border nature of the development and trade of video games, this article undertakes a comparative study of IP law in the United Kingdom and China. It concludes that dynamics as the game system is expressive and can be protected by copyright.

Academia-Industry Linkages: Alternative Platforms for Engagement Under Nigerian Law

The mandate of Nigerian universities and other institutions of higher learning is to among others, teach and carry on research. The ability of universities to effectively carry on these mandates depend on adequate funding. It is a truism that Universities in Nigeria, both public and private are under funded. The low level funding of public universities in particular, has resulted into low level research outputs. Although there are laws and indeed policies that encourage collaborations between universities, industries and other agencies of government, it does appear that there is low level awareness by researches in leveraging on the existing platforms to bridge the academia- industry gap. This article explores alternative/additional funding options for researches based on collaborative platforms under current laws and policies and concludes that these alternatives/additional funding are not resorted to by researchers largely due to low level awareness of the laws and policies underpinning academia-industry and government collaborations. The inability of universities to take advantage of these platforms has impeded researchers from transforming their research findings into products and services. The article has brought to the fore the need for universities and other institutions of higher learning to explore the legislative and policy framework underpinning collaboration with a view to transforming researches into commercial products and services. The article concludes that universities and indeed other institutions of higher learning engaged in teaching and research do not need to depend wholly on government for funding as is currently the case, rather collaboration with government Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs) and industries is available and are necessary in transforming research outcomes into commercial products and services for the benefit of stakeholders under the applicable intellectual property laws and policies. In so doing, the universities would come closer to bridging the academia –industry gap.

Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Law: Theoretical and Practical Reflections on Albanian National Law and Jurisprudence in Comparison with EU Acquis and ECJ Case Law

Biotechnology is a fast-emerging sector with enormous commercial and scientific development potential. It is impossible to overstate the prominence of intellectual property (IP) in securing and fostering innovation in the biotechnology sector. Albania, as a candidate country for EU membership, has made significant efforts to align its legislation with the EU acquis, including in the field of biotechnology and IP. The ambit of biotechnology and intellectual property laws in Albania includes patent law, trade secrets, and plant variety rights. In general, Albania's law is mostly aligned with the EU acquis, while there are a few areas that need additional development. For instance, further work is needed to define the perquisites for patentability and expand the scope of protection afforded to biotechnological innovations in Albania. There have not been many high-stakes court decisions in Albania concerning biotechnology and intellectual property, hence the country's case law is still evolving. In comparison to the EU, Albanian laws and case law in the fields of biotechnology and intellectual property are still in their infancy. Nonetheless, Albania has made substantial progress in aligning its legislation with the EU acquis, and its judges are becoming more conversant with EU case law. Albania's legislation and case law in this field is projected to continue converging with those of the EU as the country draws closer to EU membership, which will assist to encourage innovation and economic development in Albania.

Intellectual Property Development Transformations in Chinese Societies

This article analyzes the current situation of China's intellectual property rights by analyzing the legislation and revision of China's intellectual property law; the development stages of China's intellectual property rights by analyzing the time of intellectual property law; and to take theoretical system of intellectual property rights with Chinese characteristics as development goal, set the statistical standards, and analyze Chinese intellectual property development deficiencies. The conclusion is that the directions of intellectual property transformation in China are ontology and culture.

A Sociological Perspective on Why People Go for Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property rights have maintained a close relationship with economics and politics from ancient times to the present day. In terms of law, government, politics, and economics, the majority of research has examined how property rights affect economic inequality and performance. However, sociologists are also beginning to study intellectual property law at this time. Intellectual property as a symbol of a capitalist society is examined from a sociological perspective, which is often overlooked from a legal or economic point of view. This paper uses several fundamental sociological theories to analyze the connection between intellectual property and society, while most current sociological writing focuses on the social processes that contributed to the emergence and evolution of intellectual property law.

The Power of Legal Certainty in the Trademark Exhaustion Principle Governing Parallel Imports

The exhaustion doctrine in intellectual property law refers to the limitation imposed on the rights of owners to enforce their intellectual property rights after a particular point of sale. It creates a framework for determining the legality of parallel imports and helps to balance the interests of intellectual property owners and consumers. This paper presents a comparative study on the trademark exhaustion principle and parallel import between the European Union (EU) and Indonesia. The study investigates the legal framework and the practical application of these concepts in both jurisdictions. This study uses a normative research method and a legal comparative approach to analyze and describe the legal frameworks of different jurisdictions. The research findings indicate that the EU has a well-defined threshold for the exhaustion of trademark rights, which is aligned with the regional exhaustion principle. In contrast, the Indonesian legal system lacks clarity on this principle, which creates confusion and uncertainty for trademark owners and parallel importers. Last, this research also provides insights for policymakers, practitioners, and academics who are interested in the current exhaustion principle and parallel import development.

A Review on Intellectual Property Rights

This review article delves into the complex and ever-evolving field of intellectual property rights (IPR) as they relate to the pharmaceutical industry. The article begins by examining the history of IPR in pharmacy, highlighting the key developments and milestones that have shaped the landscape of pharmaceutical intellectual property law over time. From there, the article explores the different types of IPR that are relevant in the pharmaceutical industry, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights. The article then moves on to discuss the critical role that IPR plays in driving innovation and economic growth in the pharmaceutical sector. This section provides a comprehensive overview of how IPR protections incentivize research and development, encourage investment in new drugs and therapies, and ultimately help to improve global health outcomes. However, the article also delves into the challenges and controversies surrounding IPR in the pharmaceutical industry. This includes discussions of issues such as access to essential medicines, high drug prices, and the tension between intellectual property rights and public health concerns. Finally, the article considers the future of IPR in pharmacy, including emerging trends and developments that will likely shape the field in the coming years. This section touches on issues such as personalized medicine, artificial intelligence, and the increasing importance of data as an asset in the pharmaceutical industry. Overall, this review article provides a comprehensive and insightful overview of intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry, making it an invaluable resource for anyone interested in this important and dynamic area of the law. Keywords: - Innovation, Economic growth, Drug pricing, public health, Personalized medicine, Artificial intelligence, Data assets

The Protection and Research of Intellectual Property Law in International Trade Field

The Protection and Research of Intellectual Property Law in International Trade Field

L’influence normative de l’IA en droit de la propriété intellectuelle

Nous avons identifié trois points qui témoignent de l’influence normative de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) sur le droit de la propriété intellectuelle. Premièrement, l'application du droit de la propriété intellectuelle à l'IA va être conditionné par les normes éthiques et juridiques qui encadrent l'usage de l’IA. Deuxièmement, l’IA est une innovation délicate à intégrer dans le giron de la propriété intellectuelle car il s’agit d’une technologie évolutive. Son introduction dans le champ du droit de la propriété intellectuelle conduit inexorablement à transformer les grandes notions de ce droit, et en particulier les notions de création protégeable et de créateur protégé. Troisièmement, il ressort de ce qui précède que le droit de la propriété intellectuelle n'a pas encore été adapté à l'IA. En revanche, en dehors du droit de la propriété intellectuelle, plusieurs règles ont déjà été adoptées pour favoriser le développement de l’IA. Elles ont en particulier pour objet de rendre accessible les données nécessaires au fonctionnement de l'IA. Finalement, le droit de la propriété intellectuelle, tel qu’il existe aujourd’hui, ne semble pas être le régime choisi pour favoriser les technologies de l'IA.