IPO & WIPO host the ‘AI decoding IP’ Conference

The Intellectual Property Office in the United Kingdom, in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) hosted the ‘AI: decoding IP’ conference at the London Stadium on 18th & 19th June 2019. Leading academics, legal practitioners and specialists gathered to discuss the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on intellectual property (IP). The conference was opened by the Right Hon. Chris Skidmore MP, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, London, UK, followed by addresses by Lord David Kitchin, Justice of the Supreme Court, London, UK, and Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva.

The IP framework is technology neutral and should be able to accommodate new technologies such as AI without the need for fundamental change. However, it is right that from time to time questions are asked not only about how technology improves the rights granting process but also whether the IP framework is flexible enough to accommodate all new technologies and new content produced with said technologies.

This international conference explored whether the current IP framework incentivises and supports the use of AI, and discussed what changes may be necessary to accommodate the different ways in which AI is likely to be used, as well as the output from such uses. Topics explored during this two-day event included ownership, liability, entitlement, competition, data access, regulation, incentives and ethical considerations.

Speakers

The Right Hon. Chris Skidmore MP, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, London, UK,
Lord David Kitchin, Justice of the Supreme Court of the UK
Mr Francis Gurry, Director General, WIPO
Mr Felix Danczak, Head of Strategy, Signal AI, London, UK
Dr Anat Elhalal, Head of Technology – Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Lead, Digital Catapult, London, UK
Lord Tim Clement-Jones, Chair of the House of Lords AI Select Committee, UK
Dr Zoë Webster, Director of AI and Data Economy, UK Research & Innovation, UK
Professor Ryan Abbott, Professor of Law and Health Sciences, University of Surrey School of Law, Surrey, UK
Ms Belinda Gascoyne, Senior IP Law Counsel, IBM Europe, Middle East & Africa
Mr Daniel Berman , CEO Maccabi Enterprise Development & Chairman, eHealthVentures, Israel
Dr Ben Mitra-Kahn, General Manager & Chief Economist IP Australia
Dr Noam Shemtov, Reader in IP & Technology Law and Deputy Head, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University, London, UK
Dr Eleonora Rosati, Associate Professor in Intellectual Property Law, Southampton Law School, University of Southampton, UK
Professor Tanya Aplin, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, King’s College London, UK
Professor Lionel Bently, Herchel Smith Professor of Intellectual Property, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, UK
Dr Belinda Isaac, Principal, Isaac & Co Solicitors, London, UK
Dr Christopher Markou, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow & Affiliated Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, UK
Dr Jon Machtynger, Microsoft Solutions Architect – AI and Analytics, RAEng Visiting Professor for AI & Cloud Innovation at the University of Surrey, UK
Professor Ariel Ezrachi, Director of the University of Oxford Centre for Competition Law and Policy, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, UK
Professor Maria Ioannidou, Senior Lecturer in Competition Law, School of Law, Queen Mary University, London, UK
Professor Ioannis Kokkoris, Professor of Law & Economics and Deputy Dean for Global Engagement, School of Law, Queen Mary University, London, UK
Professor Ruth Okediji, Jeremiah Smith Jr Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, USA
Dr Ilanah Fhima, Reader in Intellectual Property Law, UCL Faculty of Laws, University College London, UK
Dr Heli Pihlajamaa, Director, Directorate Patent Law, European Patent Office, Munich, Germany
Professor Sir Robin Jacob, Sir Hugh Laddie Chair of Intellectual Property Law, UCL Faculty of Laws, University College London, UK
Professor Gwilym Roberts, Chairman, Kilburn & Strode LLP Honorary Secretary of CIPA, UK
Professor Maurizio Borghi, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management, Bournemouth University, UK
Mr Lauri Rechardt, Chief Legal Officer, International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI)
Mr Luke Ali Budiardjo, Columbia Law School and former IP Litigation Associate, Kirkland & Ellis, New York, USA
Dr Daniela Simone, Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Institute of Brand and Innovation Law, UCL Faculty of Laws, University College London, UK
Mr Taylor Reynolds, Technology Policy Director, Internet Policy Research Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Professor Alice Lee, Associate Dean & Associate Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong
Professor Lawrence Lau, Adjunct Associate Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong
Professor Prabuddha Ganguli, CEO of Vision-IPR & Visiting Professor, Rajiv Gandhi School of IP Law, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India
Mr Atsushi Yoshimoto, Manager, Japanese Patent Attorney, Hitachi Europe Ltd

Moderators

Ms Mishal Husain, Broadcast Journalist, London, UK
Miss Pippa Hall, Chief Economist & Director of Innovation, Intellectual Property Office, UK
Dr Birgit Clark, Lead Knowledge Lawyer Intellectual Property & Technology, Baker & McKenzie LLP
Dr Noam Shemtov, Reader in IP & Technology Law, Queen Mary University, London, UK
Ambassador Andrew Staines, Deputy Permanent Representative (Economic), UK Mission, Geneva

Mr Tim Moss, Chief Executive, Intellectual Property Office, UK, gave the closing speech.

Worldwide overview of AI patents report

The UK government is dedicated to advancing the UK’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector. AI is estimated to add £630bn to the UK economy by 2035. AI is one of the four grand challenges forming the UK government’s Industrial Strategy. Looking through a patent-focused lens, this report provides an overview of the current trends in the AI sector worldwide. It then focuses on patenting activity by the UK AI sector.

Patenting in AI technologies over the past decade has seen increases of over 400% in the number of published patent applications. The UK AI sector has seen its patenting activity more than double over the same period. This report provides the basis for further research into the growth of AI patenting at both the global and UK level.

Click here to download a copy ‘Artificial Intelligence – a worldwide overview of AI patents’ report.

About the IPO

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright. For further information visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/intellectual-property-office