In two recent rules, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has begun to take significant steps to monitor, and potentially control access to, U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) technology. AI continues to pose a unique challenge for regulators due to its rapid expansion as a consumer product and potential defense applications.Continue Reading Commerce Takes on AI: Recent Developments from BIS on AI
*prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence
In the rapidly evolving landscape of intellectual property law, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool for attorneys and inventors alike. AI drafting software, with promise of efficiency and innovation, has been increasingly adopted for drafting patent application and aiding in patent prosecution. However, this technological advancement is not without its pitfalls. Below, we explore both the risks and benefits of leveraging AI in a patent prosecution practice, providing an overview for practitioners considering its adoption.Continue Reading The Double-Edged Sword of AI in Patent Drafting and Prosecution
YouTube has announced a slate of new AI detection tools to enhance its ContentID system. The tools are designed to address the challenges posed by AI-generated content, which is becoming increasingly prevalent and sophisticated. The announcement coincides with industry-wide calls for more robust detection mechanisms as the lines between AI-generated and human-produced content continue to blur.Continue Reading YouTube Unveils AI Detection Tools: Advancing ContentID for the AI Era
After almost 2 years of negotiations over a new interactive media agreement with video game industry giants such as Activision, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Co., video game performers voted to strike as of Friday, July 26, 2024. The crux of the issue being negotiated surrounds artificial intelligence (“AI”) and performers’ fears that its unbridled use could provide game makers with a means to replace them by training AI to replicate an actor’s voice, or to create a digital replica of their likeness without consent and without fair compensation.[1]Continue Reading Game On: SAG-AFTRA’s Video Game Performer Members Strike Over AI Concerns
As we stand on the cusp of transformation in the commercial real estate industry, one cannot help but recall the sage words: “With great power comes great responsibility.” In an era marked by technological advancements occurring at a blistering pace, the real estate industry (commercial, industrial, residential, office, hotel and every other class of real estate) stands on the brink of transformation and the seemingly limitless promise and power of generative artificial intelligence (AI) looms large as both a disruptor and a savior. There is no ignoring it, just like virtually every other industry, the real estate industry is changing rapidly through the use of AI, and if you aren’t adapting your business to account for those changes, you are putting your business at significant risk. Traditionally, change in the commercial real estate industry has been akin having an oil tanker make a 180-degree turn – slow, laborious and infrequent. The changes that have been brought upon by AI are more like making a 180-degree turn in a Ferrari – fast, easy and frequent. However, these competitive and rapid shifts, while alluring, come with increased risks and the need to proactively manage those risks. The questions on everyone’s mind are: (i) Can AI really predict the future success of a project, (ii) how trustworthy is AI, (iii) how is AI going to change my business and (iv) what do I need to be worried about? Every day, public and private organizations are working towards answering those questions, not only developing reliable tools, but regulating the use of those tools to insure an even playing field. Continue Reading AI is Changing the Real Estate Industry. How Will It Impact Your Business?
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is holding a roundtable discussion, on August 5, 2024, about the intersection of AI technology and legal protections for individuals’ reputations and name, image, voice, likeness (NIL), and other indicators of identity. These rights of publicity are currently protected by a patchwork of inconsistent laws and common law rights in dozens of states. In addition to addressing whether existing legal protections for individuals’ NIL and reputations are sufficient and how these legal protections intersect with other IP laws, the USPTO is specifically interested in how AI technology impacts existing legal protections for NIL and reputation. As the USPTO notes, AI technology enables new and efficient ways to create digital media, including images, audio, and video. AI can be used to generate digital media that incorporates individuals’ NIL or impacts individuals’ reputations, with or without appropriate authorization. The unauthorized use of AI-generated NIL content can implicate Federal trademark and copyright laws, as well as state NIL laws.Continue Reading USPTO Roundtable: AI and Right of Publicity
The USPTO has published updated patent eligibility guidance (effective July 17, 2024) for AI-related inventions to help determine subject matter eligibility under 35 § U.S.C. 101. This guidance is timely as roughly 20% of all recent patent filings are AI related. It is important to note that based on prior guidance from February 2024, if an AI tool itself invents something, that is not patentable. Only inventions with significant human contribution are patentable. Thus, this does not preclude AI-assisted inventions. This February guidance was supplemented in April 2024 with AI guidance for practitioners and a request for comments on the impact of AI on certain patentability considerations, including what qualifies as prior art and the assessment of the level of ordinary skills in the art. The period for comments remains open until July 29, 2024.Continue Reading USPTO Issues AI Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
On June 24, the OCC, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, NCUA, CFPB, and FHFA approved a final rule to implement the quality control standards mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act to address the use of artificial intelligence in estimating home values. The Bureau noted that over the years, the real estate and mortgage industry have made use of computer models to estimate a property’s value. As these AI-based models grow in complexity and include more variables, they can produce inaccurate or discriminatory results.Continue Reading Federal Regulators Finalize Rule Enacting Safeguards for AI-Driven Home Valuations
If your organization has not updated its policies to comply with Utah’s Artificial Intelligence Policy Act (the “Act”), now is the time. As we noted in a prior blog post, this law took effect on May 1st. While it imposes certain AI-related disclosure obligations on businesses and individuals as a whole, the obligations for regulated occupations (which include those licensed by the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, such as clinical services provided by a licensed healthcare provider, including a physician or nurse), are stricter.Continue Reading Utah Providers – Are You Complying with the AI Policy Act?
The number of bar associations that have issued AI ethics guidance continues to grow, with NJ being the most recent. In its May 2024 report (Report), the NJ Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and the Law made a number of recommendations and findings as detailed below. With this Report, NJ joins the list of other bar associations that have issued AI ethics guidance, including Florida, California, New York, DC as well as the US Patent and Trademark Office. The Report notes that the practice of law is “poised for substantial transformation due to AI,” adding that while the full extent of this transformation remains to be seen, attorneys must keep abreast of and adapt to evolving technological landscapes and embrace opportunities for innovation and specialization in emerging AI-related legal domains.Continue Reading NJ Bar Association Warns the Practice of Law Is Poised for Substantial Transformation Due To AI
By now, most lawyers have heard of judges sanctioning lawyers for misuse of generative AI, typically for not fact checking the outputs. Other judges have issued local rules governing use of or prohibiting AI. These actions have become prevalent. What has not been prevalent is judges encouraging the possible use of AI in interpreting contracts. Perhaps that will change because of a very thoughtful concurring opinion in an appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in insurance coverage dispute matter. In that opinion, Judge Newsom penned a 31-page concurrence which focused on whether and how AI-powered large language models should be “considered” to inform the interpretive analysis used in determining the “ordinary meaning” of contract terms.Continue Reading Appellate Judge Proposes Possible Use of GenAI for Contract Interpretation – Recognizes That AI Hallucinates but Flesh-And-Blood Lawyers Do Too!