Over the next three months, members of the MARQUES Cyberspace Team will publish a series of articles on artificial intelligence (AI). In this first post, Caroline Perriard introduces the topic.

Artificial intelligence is a far-reaching concept. Yet companies are looking into using tools and applications based on AI more extensively to improve their core activities. When such projects land on the desks of IP lawyers, they open a fascinating world of new questions:

• Are we sufficiently aware of the issues raised by AI?
• How confident do we feel that we’ll be able to provide answers to our business partners?

Within the Cyberspace Team, we’ve decided to take you through a journey in our AI world of questions. In the last few months, we brainstormed about the impact of the new AI technology in relation to creation and innovation. We came to the conclusion that, yes, it has an impact and we need to think out of the box.

In order to share our thoughts, we have prepared a set of articles covering AI and trademarks, the relation to copyright law, the allocation of liability and even the relationship of data-driven apps with privacy.

In our first article, to be posted later this month, we ask if Amazon Alexa is the new average consumer. Indeed, if new technologies influence our ways of purchase, will IP offices and courts rely on new trends to search and comprehend trademarks?

A second article will cover damages caused by AI and the liability thereof. In other words, who is liable when AI gets something wrong? It may certainly not simply refer to the programmer/developer of the technology, or the manufacturer or deployer. But is the user or even the AI itself to blame?

With our series of articles on this topic, we have two goals:

• To make you, as a MARQUES member, aware of the open points that AI is bringing to us;
• To start a broad discussion related to the existing IP frameworks and how we’ll see changes in them in the future.

Stay tuned, enjoy our articles and please post comments on this blog!

Caroline Perriard is a member of the Cyberspace Team and is co-founder of BRANDIT