Intellectual Property rights (IP) means the protection, safeguarding of creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans.

The intersection between AI and IP rights is on the ownership of copyright, patents, trademarks, trade secrets raising complex ethical, legal and economic issues to the protection of IP rights all around the world including Tanzania.

Furthermore, the use of AI has revolutionized and made easy access around the world, being that other people’s works can easily be used without permission to the creator or inventor, making it seem entirely complex to control or limit.

Also, AI systems can create texts, music, images, names, logos, books, script etc. which are covered by IP rights protection.

Question

Qn:

Whether AI can be considered as an Inventor for patent law purposes in Tanzania.

Ans:

For Tanzanian patent law an inventor is a natural person who has made an invention

Qn:

Who owns the copyright: the developer of the AI, the user of the AI, or the AI itself in Tanzania?

Ans:

Copyright protection is available for original works of author, literary, musical, and artistic works, either ways for:

The developer of AI may claim copyright ownership if the AI generates a work autonomously, if AI outputs are sufficiently original and there is contractual or policy that assigns ownership to developer of AI.

The user of AI may claim copyright ownership subject to their creative input or direction in the use of the AI, together with the terms of service or user agreements.

AI itself can’t claim copyright ownership, it is not recognized as a legal person.

RISK ASSOCIATED WITH AI IN IP PROTECTION

Infringement of Rights: AI may replicate copyrighted content that infringes existing works without proper licenses, thus jeopardize the right of others.

Unauthorized data use: AI may analyze and utilize protected data without authorization, leading to legal liabilities for developers and users who own those rights, making it risky and subject to illegal actions done by others.

Ambiguity: for an AI created work, it is unclear whether the rights belong to the developer, the user, or potentially no one, complicating IP enforcement in safeguarding and protecting.

Loss of Public trust: once these AI systems ethically violates IP rights and when there is not clear remedy it may lead to loss of public trust to the IP system to safeguard and protect their intellectual property, since the loophole has enabled perpetrators to misuse the IP rights.

As artificial intelligence continues to advance at a breakneck speed, it’s crucial for intellectual property laws to catch up, AI continues to evolve, pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation, prompting a rethink on the current IP frameworks to ensure they remain relevant and effective, striking a balance between AI and IP through collaboration will be crucial to ensure harmonious co-existence for AI and IP.

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