CIPA Congress 2015: Tech advancements paint ‘gloomy’ picture for IP profession
New advances in artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and 3D printing will disrupt jobs in the intellectual property profession, delegates at the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) Congress have heard.
Former CIPA president Roger Burt told attendees at the CIPA Congress today, October 2, that many skilled jobs in the patent examination field will be lost as computers will be able to complete prior art searches and provide an instant answer on the validity of an application automatically.
Burt followed a talk by John Straw, a consultant at financial services company McKinsey & Company, who outlined developments in AI, VR and 3D printing and discussed the 'internet of things'.
Straw said such technologies will have “horrendous” implications for patents and patent owners, who will want to protect against any infringing uses.
“There have been more advances in technology in the last 18 months than the previous 32 years,” he said.
Michael Handley, a patent attorney at patent and trademark attorney firm Marks & Clerk, echoed Burt’s sentiment. He said that we are in “the real middle ages” whereby society is transitioning from “when mankind has laboured to where there is little labour”.
He added that “no new jobs will be created with the new technology”.
But Handley questioned whether an AI system could assess whether an application contains a sufficient inventive step to make it eligible for protection.
“How does AI get over the barrier of inventive step if the idea has not been written down?” he asked.
Colin Davies, an independent IP consultant, said the developments in technology painted a “gloomy” picture for those working in the IP profession, as well for other creative professions.
He said that computers being able to produce creative works raises issues for whoever owns the rights.
One example he cited was a 2013 performance of the London Symphony Orchestra. In that performance, musicians played a work produced by the computer program LAMUS.
“Who owns the rights to the work? The computer programmer. But where is the creative output? The computer owne. But they have not generated the work. Does the computer own the right?,” he asked.
The CIPA Congress runs from October 1 to 2.
