This chapter examines the intersection of artificial intelligence and the right of publicity, with a particular focus on deepfakes. It explores the concept of the right of publicity, its historical development, and its relevance in the digital age. The chapter delves into the legal challenges posed by deepfakes, which can manipulate individuals’ images and voices for malicious or commercial purposes. The chapter closes by discussing potential legal remedies and regulatory approaches to address the risks associated with deepfakes and to protect individuals’ rights of publicity.

The advent of the digital age has brought about significant changes in how information is created, disseminated and consumed. Recent developments in the use of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) have brought all things digital into sharp focus. Big data and AI have played pivotal roles in shaping the digital landscape. The term ‘big data’ describes the vast amounts of structured and unstructured data generated every day. Advanced analytics on big data enable businesses and organisations to extract valuable insights, make informed decisions and enhance various processes. AI, on the other hand, has brought about a paradigm shift in how machines learn, reason and perform tasks traditionally associated with human intelligence. Machine-learning algorithms, a subset of AI, process vast datasets to identify patterns and make predictions. This has applications across diverse fields, including health care, finance, marketing and more. The combination of big data and AI has fuelled advancements in areas such as personalised recommendations, predictive analytics and automation in all aspects of our day-to-day lives.

This chapter shows how the proposed approach to the place of punitive damages in product liability litigation illuminates debates over the consequential impact of the distinctive consumer expectations versus the risk–utility design defect liability tests, which are operative in the product liability context of many if not most legal systems. This is particularly relevant in the context of current global discussions over adopting or revising product liability laws to address the evolving risks to consumer safety posed by artificial intelligence. The extent to which product liability lawsuits and direct risk regulation interact as complementary legitimate avenues for fostering consumer safety is also brought up, primarily in the interest of stirring the conversations around product liability regimes that might be more responsive to the safety challenges posed by artificial intelligence and other new technologies in the marketplace.

This chapter delves into the complex legal questions surrounding AI-generated content and intellectual property rights. Because copyright and patent law primarily focus on human authorship and inventorship, the emergence of AI raises questions about the extent to which AI systems can be considered creators. The chapter explores the possibility of AI-generated works receiving copyright or patent protection and the challenges in determining authorship and originality in the context of AI. Additionally, the chapter examines the potential impact of AI on trademark and trade secret law. It discusses whether AI systems can own or hold intellectual property rights, as well as the implications for businesses and individuals who rely on AI-generated content.

This chapter draws all the threads together, highlighting the profound impact that artificial intelligence is likely to have on the landscape of intellectual property. It summarizes the core arguments of the book and sets out the author’s proposed strategies for adapting intellectual property law to the age of AI. By embracing these approaches, the chapter argues, one can ensure that intellectual property law continues to protect human creativity and innovation in the digital age.

Since the advent of ChatGPT in November 2022, public discourse has intensified regarding the intersection of artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights, particularly copyright. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini have sparked debates about what deserves copyright protection and what constitutes copyright infringement. Key questions arise: Are LLM-generated outputs original enough to merit copyright protection? And do they infringe upon existing copyrighted works used in their training data? This chapter delves into these issues, examining the legal and ethical implications of training LLMs on copyrighted material. The chapter also explores the concept of fair use, the potential for transformative use of copyrighted works, and the evolving landscape of copyright law in the age of AI.

This chapter examines the theoretical foundations of intellectual property law in the United States, setting the stage for understanding the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. The chapter focuses on utilitarianism as the dominant theoretical framework for US IP law, contrasting it with non-consequentialist theories. It provides a brief overview of the four major IP regimes:

Patent patent and copyright, which are explicitly grounded in the Constitution’s mandate to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts"; Trademark, which aims to reduce consumer search costs and ensure fair competition by protecting source identifiers; and Trade secret, which has a more convoluted history but has increasingly focused on promoting innovation and protecting confidential business information. The chapter emphasizes that US IP law prioritizes practical, societal outcomes over moral or philosophical considerations. It sets the stage for subsequent chapters that explore how AI’s emergence challenges these traditional theoretical underpinnings and the practical functioning of each IP regime.

This chapter explores the concept of limiting the supply of intellectual property as a strategy for preserving value. Drawing inspiration from the diamond industry, the author discusses how restricting the flow of products onto the market can increase their perceived value. The chapter examines the potential implications of AI on intellectual property, particularly in the context of human-made goods. The chapter argues that by limiting the supply of protected works, one can create a market for certified human-made goods that are valued for their unique, artisanal qualities. This approach echoes the historical shift towards artisanal goods in response to the rise of mass production. Ultimately, the chapter suggests that by carefully considering the supply and demand dynamics of intellectual property, society can ensure that the value of human creativity and innovation is preserved in the age of AI.

This chapter explores how advancements in artificial intelligence are impacting the landscape of intellectual property law. The chapter analyzes the ways in which AI can challenge traditional notions of authorship, originality, and invention. By automating creative processes and generating new ideas, AI can reduce the pool of human-created works eligible for intellectual property protection. The chapter delves into the legal and ethical implications of these developments and discusses potential strategies for adapting intellectual property law to the AI age.

This short chapter discusses the impact of lab-grown diamonds on the traditional diamond industry and the value of a diamond and uses it as an allegory for AI’s potential impact on intellectual property. Additionally, the chapter touches upon consumer preferences and the growing trend towards alternative gemstones, as well as the implications for the future of the diamond industry, again drawing parallels to the IP system.

This chapter considers how AI threatens to diminish the value proposition of IP rights, focusing specifically on trademarks and copyright. It discusses how the intangible nature of these rights relies on a shared societal understanding and belief in their existence and value. AI, however, has the potential to undermine this shared understanding, leading to a decrease in the perceived value of IP. The chapter argues that AI challenges the traditional function of trademarks as indicators of source and quality. As AI-generated content proliferates online, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between authentic and artificial sources, eroding consumer trust and confidence in trademarks. This erosion is exacerbated by AI’s ability to manipulate language and imagery, creating a world where consumers may no longer be able to rely on trademarks as reliable signals of origin or quality. Similarly, AI may challenge the value proposition of copyright by blurring the lines between human and machine creativity. As AI-generated works become more sophisticated and indistinguishable from human-created works, it becomes difficult to assess the originality and authorship of creative content, potentially diminishing the value of copyright protection.

This chapter explores key elements of AI as relevant to intellectual property law. Understanding how artificial intelligence works is crucial for applying legal regimes to it. Legal practitioners, especially IP lawyers, need a deep understanding of AI’s technical nuances. Intellectual property doctrines aim to achieve practical ends, and their application to AI is highly fact-dependent. Patent law, for example, requires technical expertise in addition to legal knowledge. This chapter tracks the development of AI from simple programming to highly sophisticated learning algorithms. It emphasizes how AI is rapidly evolving and that many of these systems are already being widely adopted in society. AI is transforming fields like education, law, healthcare, and finance. While AI offers numerous benefits, it also raises concerns about bias and transparency, among numerous other ethical implications.

This introductory chapter explores the foundation of intellectual property (IP) in the United States, specifically focusing on the history and purpose of copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret. It highlights how these pillars have maintained their utilitarian character despite major technological revolutions and emphasizes the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence (AI). As AI technologies increasingly influence creative processes, they raise significant questions about the nature of human contribution and the value of IP. This chapter introduces some of the legal implications of generative AI, including concerns over copyright infringement and the potential need for new IP protections for AI-generated works. It outlines how the rise of AI challenges the traditional metrics of progress and the standards by which human contributions are evaluated. The author suggests that rather than resisting these changes, society should adapt its understanding of IP in a way that reflects the evolving technological landscape. Ultimately, the author argues for a nuanced approach to IP law that recognizes the shifting boundaries of what constitutes valuable innovation, advocating for humility in navigating the complexities of this ongoing transformation. The discussion sets the stage for the rest of the book.