The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office had undertaken a consultation on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property in 2021. It covered three questions:
1. Continuation of copyright protection for computer-generated works (CGW) without a human author, which already had a protection period of 50 years.
2. Licensing or copyright exceptions for text and data mining (TDM).
3. Patent protections for inventions devised by AI.
In response to these questions the UK government had published its response in June 2022.
Regarding the question of continuation of copyright protection for CGWs it was decided that no changes would be made to the existing law. There was no evidence of any sort that proved that CGWs were harmful and that any changes could bring about unintended consequences.
It was also decided that the law on patent protection for AI devised inventions would not be changed. Many were of the opinion that the missing human element was disadvantageous, but the UKIPO had to keep international norms on inventorship in mind; any change would be disadvantageous to the country and its IP economy in relation to AI in particular.
The biggest development will be the expanded copyright exception for text and data mining; a process where a computer is used to analyze large bytes of information to identify patterns and trends. The technology is also used to train AI technologies. For the successful use of TDMs they, need to access and use copyrighted works. Thus, the use would bring copyright infringements unless a license or any other legal exception is made.
In accordance with the IPO response, copyright holders do not have an opt-out option. This exception is set to advance the country’s international interests and its aim to be more competitive in the AI landscape to encourage researchers, developers, and small businesses.
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