Intelligent SME.tech Issue 09 | Page 14

intelligent

// TECH TRENDS //

HOW SMES SHOULD APPROACH PATENTING AI

For a small company , even the cost of applying for and maintaining a small number of patents is significant and therefore it is important that cost is wisely incurred . David Brinck , Partner and UK and European Patent Attorney at EIP , explains the reasoning behind small tech start-ups deciding whether to patent their Machine Learning ( ML ) algorithms .
HE AMOUNT OF product

T innovations relying on Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) and Machine Learning ( ML ) algorithms is constantly rising , with online platform , Crunchbase , reporting that the number of start-ups on its platform relying on it grew by 6 % last year alone . As all these start-ups enter the market , there is a growing demand for advice and support regarding whether to file for patent protection .

There is an inherent tension between wanting to get a product out to market quickly before it loses its unique selling point and going through what can be a time-consuming process of filing for a patent to protect the product as an asset long-term . This balance act will only become more common and is something any start-up looking to launch an AI algorithm-based product cannot afford to ignore , even if it is daunting or confusing to begin with . Gigantic multinational companies with portfolios of many thousands of patents can have entire departments of staff dedicated to portfolio management . For a small company , even the cost of applying for and maintaining a small number of patents is significant and therefore it is important that cost is wisely incurred .
AI and patentability
As with many emerging technologies , the pace of development of AI tends to be faster than the development of the laws regulating it . Over the past few years , there has been an increasing debate over whether existing patent law is fit for AI-based innovations . Some argue that existing patent law is too strict and that patents should be more easily granted for AI-based innovation to encourage investment and commercialisation . Others argue that patents should not be granted for AI-based innovation as it has the potential to stifle innovation in a fast-moving field .
14
. tech
Intelligent SME . tech