Content

International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property

AI as a challenge for international IP offices

The growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday applications and the integral role that intellectual property (IP) plays in its development are of global interest. To explore these topics in greater depth, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hosted a virtual international meeting on 9 September 2024.

The focus was on how AI challenges current intellectual property practices and how IP offices can meet the needs of inventors in dealing with new technologies. The aim was to exchange experiences between the participating offices in order to identify problems and conceivable solutions, develop a deeper understanding of the practice of other patent offices and be able to carry out the examination of future AI-based patent applications in a well-founded manner.

In addition to the head of the United States Intellectual Property Office, the heads and representatives of the Intellectual Property Offices of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Patent Office also took part. President Eva Schewior provided information on the legal framework, examination guidelines and current practice in the examination of computer-implemented inventions at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.

Each office gave a comprehensive overview of its practice for assessing the patentability of AI-based inventions, inventorship and issues relating to the “Fachmann” (skilled person) as a yardstick for assessing inventive step. Furthermore, topics such as the public accessibility of AI-generated prior art and its disclosure were discussed. The discussion is to be continued. A follow-up event is therefore planned at the USPTO in Washington D.C. at the end of 2024.

Pictures: DPMA

Last updated: 9 December 2024