Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property – AComparative Study of India and the US on Copyrightand Patent Challenges

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence has rapidly emerged from a mere supportive computational tool to an autonomous system capable of generating creative and inventive outputs. This transformation has posed some fundamental challenges to the traditional intellectual property regimes premised on human authorship and inventorship. With an increased trend in the generation of literary works, artistic creations, and technological inventions by AI systems, with little or no human intervention, the existing
copyright and patent frameworks are struggling to accommodate such outputs within the existing legal doctrine. The paper attempts a doctrinal and comparative analysis of the Indian and United States intellectual property laws concerning the response of both the jurisdictions to the emerging copyright and patent challenges from AI-generated works and inventions. The paper demonstrates through an examination of statutory provisions, judicial precedents, and administrative guidelines that India and
the United States adopt a human-centric approach in rejecting the recognition of AI as an author or inventor. Whereas the judicial interpretation has so far provided a temporary respite, the lack of comprehensive legislative reform has generated considerable legal uncertainty. The paper argues for calibrated statutory intervention, disclosure-based regulatory mechanisms, and international harmonization to keep intellectual property laws relevant in the era of artificial intelligence.