Alexa, What's the Impact of AI on Trademark Law Artificial Intelligence Trademarks 281 Managing Intellectual Property 2019

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281 Managing Intell. Prop. 43 (2019)
Alexa, What's the Impact of AI on Trademark Law

handle is hein.journals/manintpr281 and id is 45 raw text is:

Alexa, 'what's the impact

of Al on trademark law?'

While the theory around artificial intelligence generates a lot of interest,

particu larly for trademark specia ists, it's tirme to assess the potential

practical impact on the law, say Lee Curtis and Rachel Platts of HGF

hen you ask Alexa, Amazons artificial intel-
ligence (Al) assistant, how'she' works, she
says: Lots of people have worked hard to
teach me, and I am still learning more. She
does not deviate from that response, and
although Alexa does not give much away, The impact of artificial intelligence (Al)
the way in which Alexa - and indeed all Al assistants - works on trademark law is as yet, untested,
will have a practical impact on how trademark law will work in but here the authors provide a practi-
the future. cal insight into some of the possibili-
ties of the effect in practice that this
In our previous Managing IP article on the topic of Al and technology could create. With the rise
trademarks (in December 2017), we raised - probably for the of voice searching and Purchasing,
first time in print - the possible impact Al may have on some there will be an increased importance
ofthe core concepts oftrademark law Notably, how willAl im- on the phonetic aspects of trademarks,
pact the fundamental and accepted concepts oftrademark law and the responsibility of accurate
such as average consumer', 'imperfect recollection, 'likelihood searching could be pushed back to the
ofconfusion, concepts ofaural, conceptual and visual compar- consumer. The authors suggest that
ison and the 'slurring' of trademarks? The ultimate question we will see a shift in the law regarding
was, 'can Al be confused?' the liability of Al and a new legal test
for infringement as we see a need to
As we explored previously, trademark law today is still funda- identify who (or what) is making the
mentally based on nineteenth century concepts of how prod- purchasing decision.
ucts are purchased, but when Al is involved it means that the
purchasing of products and services moves from a reactive to
predictive mode. As such, many of the current concepts of
trademark law may simply not be relevant anymore and the law
will have to adapt, as to a degree it has always done, to be flexible
to the new ways products are purchased.

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