INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SYSTEM AND THE CHALLENGE OF ARTIFICIAL AND MONKEY INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

The current internationally recognised system of intellectual property came about with the entering into force of the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 and the Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1886. There are philosophic justifications that ground the protection of intellectual property. The intellectual property system developed as a result of the growth and development of technology during the industrial revolution. Since then, however, technology has developed to the level that it acts autonomously with no human intervention, and is capable of creating literary, musical and artistic works, and also making inventions. Similarly, monkeys have been shown to be capable of creating works that merit copyright. In spite of these developments, the intellectual property system has not recognised the capacity of non-humans to own intellectual property. The aim of this paper is to apply the philosophic justifications for intellectual property to demonstrate that non-humans are capable of owning intellectual property. The paper finds that the intellectual property system is designed to either vest moral or economic rights on a creator or inventor, and not to credit a person with intellectual property on the ground that the creator or inventor has a legal incapacity to protect the intellectual property. The paper concludes by advocating for legal mechanisms that recognise the intellectual property of nonhumans through legal guardianship.