‘Artificial Intelligence and Patents’, risks and opportunities

The Science and Innovation Week is a great opportunity to learn about some of the technologies that are transforming the world and, increasingly faster, our daily lives. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is, without a doubt, one of those that has burst with more force in all areas of our lives, also in the workplace.

The emergence of technology designed to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence offers enormous opportunities to improve the efficiency of work methods and dynamics. However, a technology capable of imitating human cognitive faculties also entails risks and questions that need to be analyzed and resolved.

This highly topical issue was addressed in the exhibition 'Artificial Intelligence and Patents', which was held at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) during the event organized by the Carlos III University of Madrid. The interaction of these two fields with each other has brought a series of challenges for professionals and users in the field of Industrial Property (IP).

Can AI invent or must the inventor be human? Can inventions generated autonomously by Artificial Intelligence be patented? Can AI infringe patent rights? Moreover, who would be liable? These are questions that have arisen as a result of the increasingly daily and widespread use of a technology capable of autonomous creation. The industry must speak out and provide answers to these dilemmas, which is no easy task, as there are several schools of thought and different positions on the subject.

However, AI also offers multiple opportunities that can make the work of the professionals in the administrations responsible for this area more efficient. Some of these examples are: the automatic assignment of files, the review and summary of documents or assistance in the drafting of opinions, communications and minutes.

In short, this exhibition has allowed to know how the IP sector is currently related to Artificial Intelligence, the risks it entails, the opportunities it offers, how the different legal systems regulate it and to anticipate what other challenges and vicissitudes could bring with it the most immediate future.