CIPIL Evening Seminar: 'A Quotidian Revolution? Artificial Intelligence and Trade Mark Law'

Speaker: Professor Dev Gangjee, University of Oxford 

Biography: Dev Gangjee is Professor of Intellectual Property Law within the Law Faculty and a Tutorial Fellow at St Hilda's College. Prior to joining Oxford, he was a senior lecturer at the London School of Economics. Dev is a graduate of the National Law School of India and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.  Dev's research focuses on Intellectual Property (IP), with a special emphasis on Branding and Trade Marks, Geographical Indications and Copyright law. Thematic research interests include the history and political economy of IP, collective and open innovation, the significance of registration for intangibles and rights in data. He has acted in an advisory capacity for national governments, law firms, international organisations and the European Commission on IP issues.

Abstract: While algorithms that invent and create have been focusing minds on the patent and copyright implications of AI, the incorporation of machine learning into the everyday practice of trade mark law has been relatively neglected. Developments in image recognition and natural language processing are being used, at scale, by trade mark registries, clearance service providers as well as watching agencies, to assess conflicts between protected signs. More advanced versions of the technology are also being used by internet platforms (such as online marketplaces) and brand protection agencies, to enforce trade marks across the internet. In this presentation, this technology will be outlined while raising for debate some of its legal implications for substantive trade mark doctrine. 

Please note that this event is in-person only and will not be recorded.