Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Legal Frameworks in the Asia-Pacific Region

Governments across the world are facing the rise of artificial intelligence (“AI”). These technologies present exciting new opportunities but also pose challenges for regulators and businesses across various industries, and the Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region is no exception. APAC governments are responding to AI by seeking ways to promote and regulate its development through both existing intellectual property (“IP”) regimes and new legal frameworks.

AI technologies are designed to replicate human intelligence by creating smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. The rapidly growing AI market spans from machine learning to generative AI, virtual assistants, robotics, and beyond.

In the context of IP and AI, several critical questions arise for governments to consider: Can existing legal frameworks within IP protect AI models? Must copyright holders be human? Does a patent inventor have to be an individual? Do the training programs for AI models infringe on others’ copyrights?

To begin addressing these questions, regulators are turning to existing IP regimes, including patent and copyright law. Some APAC countries have opted for a non-binding approach, using existing principles to guide AI regulation, while others are developing more specific AI regulations. The summary chart below offers a brief overview of the current state of patent and copyright laws related to AI and IP within APAC. Additional commentary on recent updates to AI laws and regulations is provided in the chart below…

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