The first major dedicated conference by the European Patent Office (EPO) concerning Artificial Intelligence (AI) was held on 30 May in Munich. Approximately 350 delegates attended the conference, including representatives from academia, industry, intellectual property firms, national patent offices and government bodies.
Fast developing tech
Patent offices are facing challenges caused by the rapidly-developing technologies, and this was at the heart of the conference. Alberto Casado is the EPO vice president for the Patent Granting Process. He opened the conference by saying that its aim was to “raise awareness and launch an open exchange of views”.
The three ways patent offices around the world can expect to be affect by the technologies behind what has been dubbed the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) are:
- Protecting AI with patents.
- The use of AI during development of inventions.
- The use of AI during the patenting process.
The speed of the development of AI and other patent applications related to 4IR present specific challenges. Mr Casado said: “We aim to continually improve and develop our processes and services to best fit with changing needs, and ultimately to protect IP for the benefit and economic growth of Europe and society at large.”
Solutions proposed
Delegates at the conference took part in panel discussions and presentations to talk about various potential solutions to provide patent applicants with a solid, lasting framework for patenting AI innovations.
The conference started by addressing the current situation surrounding patenting AI. These discussions were headed up by a patent attorney from the United States. Technology expert Clare Dillon went on to outline the latest AI trends and talked about the likely trajectory of technological development. She pointed out that it is not restricted to the IT industry but will impact innovation in every sector. Clare said: “Patents and the EPO have a huge role to play in developing and accelerating the economic viability of AI.”
EPO research
Yann Ménière, the Chief Economist at the EPO used his speech to talk about the rapid growth of patent applications covering the 4IR over recent years. He also spoke about the implications for patent offices based on research that the EPO has already undertaken.
The third keynote was by Koen Lievens, the EPO Director, who talked about the office’s approach to how patent applications in this area are examined. They all talked about the current stable approach to CII (computer-implemented inventions) that currently exists within the European Patent Convention.
Around half of all patent applications received by the EPO in the medical technology sector and the automotive sector already have a CII element. The EPO’s Guidelines for Examination of these patents will be published later in 2018 and will give patent offices specific guidance about examining AI applications under current CII practice.
Speeding up process
Other panel discussions gave patent professionals the opportunity to share their strategies for dealing with patenting AI inventions. Example cases were looked at, including how they are handled by the EPO. A representative from Ericsson said: “There are challenges in each and every phase of the life of an invention: the evaluation and patent drafting phase, the patent application prosecution phase, and the enforcement phase.”
Various solutions were put forward by participants, including whether it’s necessary to speed up the patent process, provide earlier published notification of applications and adapt the model in order to protect the business as the inventor. It was also discussed whether it’s necessary to make significant legislative changes in order to tackle the challenges thrown up by patenting AI inventions.
Ethical implications
The rest of the conference discussed the ethical implications of patented AI inventions. The speakers included patent experts from the US and Japan, who talked about recent AI developments in their respective countries.
Closing remarks for the conference talked about the recent reforms put in place by the EPO to increase efficiency and, to some extent, future-proof the office. However, AI is changing all the time, and we are living through a time of huge opportunity for innovation.