Referring to a May 2020 document of the International Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Registrar mentioned some of the questions that arise: (1) In light of the high rate of development of artificial intelligence technology and the difficulty of anticipating the effects of a policy that will be adopted, should these questions be decided now, or should we wait for a better understanding of the technology and its effects? (2) Is the incentive system enshrined in patent law appropriate to encourage the creation of inventions made by artificial intelligence without human involvement, or should a special right (sui generis) be created to protect such inventions? (3) In the event that the protection of AI inventions is done through today's patent law, should the law allow or require the registration of the AI as the inventor in the application or should the registration of a human factor be required? And if so, who is the right human factor? Is it necessary to change the criteria set out in the law for patent registration?
- The Registrar added that in any event, it is not possible to talk about the realization of the purposes of the law for the dissemination of knowledge and the encouragement of innovation, without referring to the international aspect of intellectual property law. It was noted that patent law in Israel applies principles established in international frameworks that regulate various aspects of intellectual property law in general and patent law in particular, and that they often rely on similar arrangements in comparative law.
It was also noted that there are currently no accepted rules for the protection of inventions made by artificial intelligence without a human inventor, and that most of the countries in which the matter was discussed refused to register a patent for an invention made without any human involvement. The Registrar also reviewed the situation with respect to parallel patent applications of the appellant filed in the United States, England, the European Union (the European Patent Office, and the Board of Appeal), Australia and Germany.