Japan Govt Panel: “Originator Profile” Tech Effective in Protecting Intellectual Property Rights from Generative AI

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:19 JST, December 11, 2023

A government study group said Monday that a digital technology called Originator Profile (OP), which shows the credibility of a source or origin of online information, is effective in the efforts to protect intellectual property rights from generative artificial intelligence.

The panel on the protection of intellectual property held its fourth meeting online and compiled proposals on issues concerning the efforts, including those with reference to the use of new technologies.

Technologies to reduce risks, such as copyright infringement by AI, were listed in the proposals. OP technology was pointed to as an effective mechanism to distinguish whether information content was generated by AI as it “clarifies the origin of the content.”

Digital watermarking technology, which would allow people to determine if a text or image was generated by AI, was regarded by the panel as requiring further discussions, specifically on to what extent a work should be recognized as AI-generated.

The panel also analyzed technology that prevents information being automatically collected by AI and suggested that such technology may be ineffective if the content is diverted to other websites for AI to collect from.

The panel also examined whether the use of generative AI is subject to regulations under the Trademark Law or the Design Law. It concluded that while no infringement of rights takes place at the stage of training AI, creating or using generative AI will be subject to regulations since the cases are considered illegal as other generally illicit cases.