1---Government research subsidies.
Hilty et al 21. – Director at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Professor at the University of Zurich, Honorary PhD from the University of Buenos Aires with a Specialization in IP and Competition Law; Junior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, PhD Candidate at and J.D. from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich; Junior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Member of the Max Planck Institute’s Research Group on the Regulation of the Digital Economy, PhD Candidate at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Reto Hilty, Jörg Hoffmann, and Stefan Scheuerer, “Intellectual Property Justification for Artificial Intelligence,” Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property, 04-19-2021, https://global.oup.com/academic/product/artificial-intelligence-and-intellectual-property-9780198870944?cc=cr&lang=en&
The commonly known issue of underinvestment in the production of new knowledge has been traditionally addressed via either direct legal intervention in the marketplace, by granting subsidies for research and development or by transforming the public into a private good through the granting of intellectual property (IP) rights. Over the last decades, new technologies have boosted the general tendency of establishing subject matter-specific forms of protection, such as for computer programs or databases. This move towards a policy-driven activism has rightly been criticized.1 Indeed, the false assumption that IP rights a priori provide incentives for creation and innovation is not tenable. One also should bear in mind the potentially dysfunctional effects of excessive IP protection and related deadweight loss.
Artificial intelligence’ (AI) is another example of technological development where industrial policy considerations tend to go hand in hand with an urge for direct market interventions. Within this context, it seems crucial to reassess the need for IP protection and its theoretical justification in this particular field. It should be recalled that in a liberal society based on a market economy there is no need to justify why IP protection is not awarded. On the contrary, the question is why (and under which circumstances) IP rights are necessary.