In a Daily Journal article, IP litigation partner Jim Davis and senior attorney Scott Taylor discuss trade secret protection for inventions generated by artificial intelligence. They explain that trade secret protection is agnostic to whether a human or AI created the invention. This makes trade secrets a potentially attractive option for those seeking to protect and monetize inventions created by their AI systems—especially in jurisdictions where patent protection for such AI-generated inventions is unavailable or uncertain.
But a prerequisite for trade secret protection is that the technology be kept secret. This presents a difficult choice for owners and operators seeking global protection, since a patent disclosure in one jurisdiction undermines trade secret protection in all others.
They note that stakeholders seeking to leverage trade secret protection should pay attention to the technological underpinnings of their AI systems and their contractual agreements with AI providers to ensure that trade secret prerequisites are met.
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