Do AI Patents Come At The Expense Of Innovation?

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) report 2019, approximately 3,40,000 patent families in AI and more than 1.6 million scientific papers related to AI were published from the year 1960 to 2018. The number has only risen as more and more enterprises are looking to leverage AI and ML technology. AI and ML play a vital role in many industries, and these industries seek ways to guard their innovations through copyright and IP protection.

The March 2021 CSET report on Mapping India’s AI potential highlighted that India had ten times as many AI-relevant patent applications in 2018 as compared to 2012. Patents are a barometer to measure innovation. According to the report, even though Indian owned AI patents are small compared to the research output, India ranks in the top 10 AI patent producing countries. The largest categories of AI patents in India are telecommunications, life sciences, personal devices and computing and business (making up 70% of India’s AI patents). The report concluded that India has the potential to position itself as an important player and a valuable partner in the AI ecosystem.

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