AI and Patents and Trade Secrets

This chapter considers some implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for the disclosure of information about inventions and decisions. Patent law promotes the disclosure of information about inventions and can reward such disclosure with a patent. But, if AI or AI-generated artifacts are not patentable for the various reasons discussed in this chapter, then disclosure of information about them might not occur. Trade secret law currently protects secret AI algorithms that are used to make decisions from unauthorized disclosure, potentially hindering the accountability of such decision-making. This chapter describes how both patent law and trade secret law could adapt to ensure that sufficient information about inventions and automated decisions is disclosed to further knowledge and accountability.