Chinese search engine company Sogou recently announced its intent to apply its artificial intelligence technology to online literature, creating unique experiences for online readers.

 

"Invention patents have accounted for 99.5 percent of the world's total patents concerning core AI technologies used in such sectors as voice and vision processing," said Zang Lei, Sogou's legal director.

 

"Intellectual property is a shield for products and plays a role in helping companies maintain competitiveness in the information technology industry," Zang said.

Zhang Xiaofei, deputy head of the Machine Translation Institute on Scientific Literature affiliated to Intellectual Property Publishing House, said that with the rapid development of AI, the applications of related patents are on the rise all over the world.

IP plays an active role in helping companies expand markets and increase their capabilities of self-innovation and risk control, Zhang said.

 

"The essence of the competition in the high-tech sector is IP instead of technologies," he said.

 

The institute has developed an AI translation system for patent documents, claiming more than 90 percent accuracy.

 

"AI technologies have advantages in data collection and analysis, which is conducive to increasing efficiency in work on patents' search and review as well as analysis of infringements," Zhang said.

 

In 2017, the State Council released a guideline on developing new-generation AI, aiming to increase the annual industrial output value of the country's core AI industry to more than 150 billion Yuan (USD20.94 billion) by 2020.

 

Fast-growing AI technology will bring challenges to the IP system, he said, adding that there will be more patent disputes when AI is increasingly developing into an industry.

 

Zhang said he hoped that decision-makers will not only value the technological advancement in the AI field, but also promote research into related legislation.

 

Source: China Daily