The IPO sought evidence and views on a range of options on how AI should be dealt with in the patent and copyright systems.

The IPO considered three specific areas:

1. copyright protection for computer-generated works (CGWs) without a human author;
2. licensing or exceptions to copyright for text and data mining (TDM), which is often significant in AI use and development; and
3. patent protection for AI-devised inventions.

For computer-generated works, the IPO says that it plans no changes to the law. There is no evidence at present that protection for CGWs is harmful, and the use of AI is still in its early stages. As such, a proper evaluation of the options is not possible, and any changes could have unintended consequences. However, the IPO says that it will keep the law under review and could amend, replace or remove protection in future if the evidence supports it.

For TDM, the IPO plans to introduce a new copyright and database exception, which allows TDM for any purpose. Rights holders will still have safeguards to protect their content, including a requirement for lawful access.

For AI-devised inventions the IPO plans no change to UK patent law now. Most respondents felt that AI is not yet advanced enough to invent without human intervention. However, again, the IPO will keep this area of law under review to ensure that the UK patent system supports AI innovation and the use of AI in the UK. The IPO will seek to advance AI inventorship discussions internationally to support UK economic interests. To access the IPO response to the consultation, click here.

We submitted a response to the original call for views earlier in the year which made similar recommendations to the published outcome. Our full response can be accessed here, and a summary of our submission can be found here.