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南非：机器人来了。但是谁拥有IP？

# 南非：机器人来了。但是谁拥有IP？

斯普尔和费舍尔
- 18 3 月 2020

### 人工智能 (AI) 实验现在在南非的公司中多产，许多企业对它表现出极大的热情。多少热情？据 Business Tech 报道，超过 45% 的南非企业表示，他们已经在其组织内积极试点人工智能。

但是，急于发布机器人不应以牺牲组织所依据的数据为代价。机器人带来利润，但也带来所有权挑战。

根据我们的经验，许多考虑使用人工智能的南非企业主都关心以下问题：当您转向流程自动化、软件机器人、机器学习和人工神经网络时，最聪明、最安全的方法是什么？谁拥有输出？可以拥有底层数据吗？

过去，人类对程序的输入与其产生的输出之间往往存在直接联系。今天，投入和产出之间的关系不再是线性的。

根据 DataRobot 首席执行官 Jeremy Achin 的说法，人工智能分为两大类：“狭义人工智能”，它是对人类智能的模拟，通常专注于非常出色地执行一项任务，以及“人工通用智能”或 AGI，它指的是具有像人类一样，几乎可以解决任何问题的通用智能。

目前，大多数组织都以算法的形式处理狭义的人工智能，作为更大的机器学习过程的一部分。在机器学习中，规则是由算法创建的，而不是由算法的开发人员创建的。

必须在材料实施形式的输出（如编译的数据库）和基础数据之间进行区分。尽管数据是一种受保护的利益，但我们的判例法似乎表明它可能无法被拥有。这与通常受版权法保护的数据的物质体现不同。

冒着概括的风险，基本原则是只有人类创造的东西才能受到版权保护。因此，我们的法律规定作品的作者（或作者的雇主）拥有版权。根据南非版权法，计算机生成作品的作者是为其创作做出必要安排的人。但是，在机器学习中，算法（机器人，而不是人类）为要创建的规则做出了安排。

那么版权归谁呢？机器人？否。如果涉及外部服务提供商，作者身份问题再次浮出水面，因为如果不进行版权的书面转让，服务提供商（而不是提供服务的组织）可能最终成为版权所有者。鉴于不确定性，人工智能背景下的知识产权所有权应通过约定谁拥有什么来预先通过合同进行监管。

从业务连续性的角度来看，确保组织获得使用 AI 算法的永久许可是一个好主意。许可证还可以规定将源代码和实施文档置于托管中。

合同中还可以包含一个特定且重点突出的贸易限制条款，以防止服务提供商为竞争对手的利益实施类似的人工智能解决方案。组织应该在行业中制定一个特定的部门，它希望通过限制来限制，并且只在合理要求的程度上保护机密信息。

合同还应包括必要的保密条款，以确定什么是机密信息以及如何处理这些信息。