Post #27

Does AI dream of electric patents? Google faces a legal problem: lawyers are unsure if they could patent plans created by AI algorithms. The company had filed patents describing a ML technique used to design and map out components in the custom AI accelerator TPU chips. However, US laws recognize and protect intellectual property created only by "natural persons". Although Google engineers built AI models, after training algorithms generated their products automatically with minimal human effort. Therefore, a legal catch arises: is it permissible to patent the outputs created by these systems? During the meeting held by US Patent and Trademark Office, Laura Sheridan, senior patent counsel at Google, said that company pursued only patterns on ML models, not the floorplans it had created. This case remains an important issue for the entire IT industry nevertheless. AI technologies already produce a lot of outcomes that could become valuable intellectual property for a business and entrepreneurs. ML systems can, for example, write a code, hunt for new drugs, and create digital art. That is why application of the patent laws to the AI algorithms’ outcomes should be clarified in the shortest time. #AI#ML