Whether AI can hold patents is among challenges S'porean chief of global IP body is working on
The rapid development of technology has given rise to challenges on the intellectual property (IP) front, with several recent patent applications filed by people naming artificial intelligence (AI) as the inventor.
Mr Daren Tang, director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo), said: "IP offices (around the world) don't quite know how to react to this.
"But the... reactions so far have been that the inventor still has to be a human being."
The jury is still out, and the topic will be discussed during one of Wipo's forums later this month, he added.
The issue of AI as creator has been in the news recently, after a man won first place at a fine art competition in the United States by using an AI-generated piece. The win last month created a stir online, with artists accusing the man of cheating.
Similar novel issues might be faced by Wipo in the coming years, while the organisation continues to be led by Mr Tang, 50.
It has been a fulfilling two plus years for the lawyer by training at the helm of Wipo, which is responsible for shaping global rules for IP.
Mr Tang made headlines in May 2020 after he was appointed the organisation's chief, becoming the first Singaporean to helm a United Nations agency.
He was elected by members of Wipo's coordination committee on March 4 that year, beating lawyer Wang Binying of China by a vote of 55 to 28.
The Wipo General Assembly subsequently approved his appointment at an extraordinary session, making him the agency's fifth director-general since it began operations in 1970.
The former chief executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore is also Wipo's first Asian director-general. His predecessors at Wipo were from the Netherlands, Sudan, Australia, as well as one who held Hungarian and US citizenships.
He is currently serving a six-year term from Oct 1, 2020.
Speaking to The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao last Tuesday, Mr Tang noted that intellectual property activity worldwide has continued to grow despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Read More…
