Artificial Intelligence creates, invents … and challenges Intellectual Property Law

AI: the mind behind creative and innovative works. Can a sui generis system be a solution?

Abstract

Recent developments in technology are leading to the production of machines with the intellectual capacity to create and invent, just like humans. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is challenging copyright and patent law, as the actual author and inventor is no longer a natural person, but a machine. This article focuses on creative and innovative outputs generated autonomously by AI and scrutinises whether and to what extent they are eligible for protection through traditional Intellectual Property (IP) rights. Lastly, this article seeks to determine whether the current legal system is able to deal with this phenomenon, as well as to present a solution that can do so, in the form of a sui generis system tailor-made for AI-generated materials.