Protecting Artificial Intelligence IP-

COMMENTARY

JANUARY2018

TheSituation:Artificialintelligence("AI")technologyisexplodingacrossvirtuallyallindustries.

Technologycompaniesareinnovatingatwarpspeed,andevencompaniesthatdonotprincipally

identifyas"technologycompanies"arebecomingincreasingly"hightech"inhowtheydelivergoods

andservices.Innovationisoutpacingthelaw—manyaspectsofAIlegalprotectionarestillopen

questions.

TheResult:Withinnovationcomesimitation …andinfringementandmisappropriation.Companiesmust

bevigilantinprotectingandenforcingtheirintellectualproperty("IP")rightsinAI.

LookingAhead:ThetimeisnowtodevisealegalstrategytoprotectIPinAI.Suchstrategyshould

considernotonlypatentprotectionbutalsocopyrightsandtradesecrets.

SKIPTOTHEFULLVERSION

AIandTradeSecrets

TradeSecretProtection

Tradesecretlawsprotecteconomicallyvaluablesecrets.

Protectableinformationincludesformulae,compilations,

programs,methods,techniques,processes,designs,andcodes.

Tradesecretprotectionarisesautomaticallyprovidedthatthe

tradesecretownercandemonstratethattheinformationcreates

acompetitiveadvantagebyvirtueofitssecrecyandthat

reasonablemeasureshavebeentakentomaintainitssecrecy.

ManyAIsystemelementsarewellsuitedfortradesecret

protection,suchas:neuralnetworks,includingmodularnetwork

structureandindividualmodules;trainingsets,dataoutput,and

otherdata;softwareincludingunderlyingAIcodeandAI

generatedcode;andlearning,backpropagation,andother

algorithms.

"Reasonablemeasures"tomaintainthesecrecymayvary

dependingonacompany'ssizeandresourcesbutcaninclude

physicalandtechnicalsolutionstolimitandmonitoraccessto

tradesecretinformation.Writtenpoliciesshoulddictatetrade

secretmanagement,andemployeesshouldbecontractually

requiredtoprotectcompanyconfidentialandtradesecret

informationfromimproperdisclosure.Whensharingtrade

secretswithbusinesspartners,nondisclosureagreementsshould

control.Objectcodegiventocustomersshouldincludedigital

rightsmanagementandrobustlicensingterms.

DevelopingaStrategy

Companiesshouldconsideratradesecretprogramthatgoes

beyond"reasonablemeasures."Morerobustmeasureswill

diminishthelikelihoodofmisappropriationandenablerapid

detectionofmisappropriationwhenitoccurs.IfaparticularAI

tradesecretisvitaltothecompany—forexample,alarge

trainingdataset—thensignificantresourcesandcareshouldbe

devotedtoitsprotection.

Itisimportantfor

businessestodayto

implementaproactive

andcomprehensive

strategytoprotecttheir

IPrightsinAI.Such

strategyshouldconsider

notonlypatent

coverage,butalso

secretprotection,

particularlyforaspects

oftheIPthatmaynot

(rightlyorwrongly)be

patenteligible.

"ArtificialIntelligence"hasbeenthesubjectofcountlesssciencefictionbooksandmovies.Justafew

monthsago,BladeRunner2049hitthetheatersasasequeltotheoriginal1982BladeRunnerfilm,

whichimaginedafuturisticworld—intheyear2019—wheresynthetic,bioengineeredhumansrun

rampant.WhileBladeRunner'sdystopianvisionhasthankfullynotcometopass,AIhasbegunto

infiltratevirtuallyallbusinesssectorsandnearlyeveryaspectoftheconsumerexperience.

ThelegalimplicationsforAIarecomplexandconstantlyevolving.Itisimportantforbusinessestodayto

implementaproactiveandcomprehensivestrategytoprotecttheirIPrightsinAI.Suchstrategyshould

considernotonlypatentcoverage,butalsocopyrightandtradesecretprotection,particularlyforaspects

oftheIPthatmaynot(rightlyorwrongly)bepatenteligible.

AIandCopyright

THREEKEYTAKEAWAYS
1.
AnumberofAIsystemelementsaregoodfitsfor
protectionastradesecrets.
2.
ThemorevaluableaparticularAItradesecretistoa
company,themoreresourcesshouldbeappliedtoits
protection.
3.
CopyrightscanbeanimportantpartofanAI
protectionstrategy,buttheyraisecertainissues
relativetofunctionality,authorship,registration,and
othermatters.
WANTTOKNOWMORE?
READTHEFULLVERSION.
CONTACTS
AndreaW.Jeffries
LosAngeles
EmilyJ.Tait
Detroit
JasonM.Garr
Detroit
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SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBETORSS
SoftwareCopyrightProtection
Thoughwemaynotthinkofsoftwareasaliterarywork,itisprotectedassuchunderU.S.copyrightlaw.
Copyrightprotectioninsoftwareextendstoalloftheoriginalexpressionembodiedinthesoftware,but
nottoitsfunctionalaspects.ThefunctionalityofAIsoftwareisoftenpreciselywhatmakesitvaluable,so
litigantsmustexercisecaretoconnectthatfunctionality(whichisnotcoveredbycopyright)tothe
specificoriginalexpressioninthesoftware(whichis).
IssuesthatariseincopyrightprotectionofAIinclude:
Authorship.Followingtheinfamous"MonkeySelfie"case,theU.S.CopyrightOfficeclarifiedthat"[t]o
qualifyasaworkof'authorship'aworkmustbecreatedbyahumanbeing."Thiscreateschallengesfor
thecopyrightabilityofAIgeneratedworks.
Therearealsohurdlestoclearwithhumangeneratedsoftware.Theworkforhiredoctrinedoesnot
extendtocommissionedworksofcomputersoftware.Accordingly,agreementswiththirdpartysoftware
developersmustincludeexpressassignmentlanguage.Inaddition,therearechallengesrelatingtothird
partyandopensourcecodethatmustbeevaluatedduringsoftwaredevelopment.
CopyrightRegistration.Althoughnotrequiredtosecureacopyright,registrationconfersimportant
benefits.Notethatrevisedsoftwaremaycontainnewcopyrightedmaterialrequiringanewregistration.
RedactionofTradeSecretsinCopyrightableCode.Wherecopyrightedsoftwareincludestrade
secrets,theyshouldberedactedfromthecodedepositedwiththeCopyrightOffice,asthedepositisa
publicrecord.
DevelopingaStrategyforProtectingCopyrightedAISoftware.Organizationsshoulddevelopa
strategyfortimelyregisteringsoftware."Versioncontrol"iscriticalbecause,inlitigation,thefullcodefor
the"copyrightedwork"willlikelyneedtobeproducedandwillneedtomatchtheversionthatis
registeredandtheversionthatthedefendantcopied.Further,robustlicenses,includingenduserlicense
agreements,shouldcontroluseofthelicensedsoftwareandallocationofownershipofcodeand/ordata
developedfromthelicensedsoftware.
Conclusion
AItodayislessaboutimaginedscenariosinthefardistantfutureandmoreaboutrealworldapplications
happeningrightnoworonthehorizon.OrganizationshavingarobustandwellthoughtoutAIprotection
strategyinplacewillbebestpositionedtoenforcetheirIPrightswheninfringementandmisappropriation
occurand,betteryet,topreventunlawfulconductbeforeitoccurs.Tradesecretsandcopyrightprovide
uniqueprotectionforIPthatcannotbeachievedbypatentsalone.

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