Inventions that completely change the direction of life only arrive once in a blue moon. However, every decade has witnessed a few such innovations that change the trajectory of our future. We are talking about things like the TV set, the World Wide Web, the smartphone, and the COVID-19 vaccine. In the 2020s, that defining invention will almost definitely be Generative AI.
The emergence of generative AI presents exciting possibilities but also challenges the established boundaries of IP law. These complexities require us to adapt and ensure this legal framework continues to sustain and protect human ingenuity.
Intellectual property (IP) law has historically served a world where human ingenuity reigns supreme. Copyright law, for instance, encourages creativity by granting rights to authors while allowing for “fair use” in activities like criticism and commentary. However, the question of how “fair use” applies to the data used to train AI systems remains an open discussion.