Artificial Intelligence (AI) For Good: Enabling AI for Health Innovation and Access through Intellectual Property (IP)

AI is transforming healthcare with the use of software, algorithms and digital health - all of which intersect IP. As part of the AI for Good Global Summit, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s external relations and global challenges divisions organized a panel discussion on IP management to enable AI implementation for healthcare innovation and access, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The panelists explored how IP can be effectively managed by private innovators and governments to ensure that AI health solutions reach the market and expand access to healthcare in Lower and Medium Income Countries (LMICs).

The panel session was moderated by Siddhartha Prakash, Head of Global Health at WIPO, and featured Ms. Sneha Jain (IP Litigator and Partner, Saikrishna & Associates), Dr. Tobias Schonwetter (Associate Professor, University of Cape Town), and Ms. Komal Kalha (Deputy Director, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA)).This was the third in a series of global panel discussions on AI, health and IP organized by WIPO’s external relations division in partnership with the global health unit. The first was held in Saudi Arabia in 2023 and the second in Singapore earlier this year.

Sneha Jain: Copyright as the Hidden Backbone of AI in Health

Ms. Sneha Jain’s presentation focused on the central role of copyright management in enabling the successful implementation of AI technologies in healthcare. While much of the policy discourse around AI and IP tends to prioritize patents, Ms. Jain emphasized that copyright intersects with nearly every stage of the AI lifecycle and is critical to both innovation and access.

She structured her talk around the AI training pipeline, outlining how copyright-related issues emerge from the earliest stages of data collection and preprocessing, through model development, deployment, and use in clinical or public health settings. Ms. Jain introduced a structured "mental model" for understanding exposure points within this pipeline, advocating that innovators, legal teams, and regulators must be proactive in identifying risks and obligations at each stage.

A key message was the importance of “knowing your exposure”, a rights-management approach that involves mapping where copyrighted content is being used (e.g., in datasets, algorithmic outputs, or interface designs), determining whether licenses or exceptions apply, and establishing compliance frameworks early in the development process.

She concluded by reinforcing that clear, well-managed copyright strategies are essential not only for legal certainty but also for unlocking the full potential of AI in healthcare, particularly in settings where legal and infrastructural capacity may be limited. Without these safeguards, innovators may face barriers to scale, establish partnerships, or achieve cross-border adoption.

Dr Tobias Schonwetter: Africa Must Shape Its Own IP and AI Narrative

Dr. Tobias Schonwetter framed his intervention around the need for Africa to develop its own legal and policy frameworks for AI, particularly in the healthcare sector. He emphasized that while the African Union has identified AI as a strategic priority, existing governance structures remain limited and fragmented across the continent. With AI increasingly seen as a tool for improving diagnostics and expanding access to care, especially in underserved regions, he stressed the importance of regulation that is people-centered, ethically grounded, and responsive to the continent’s unique development needs.

Dr. Schonwetter highlighted the dual role of IP in this ecosystem as both a driver of innovation and a potential barrier to access. While IP systems can incentivize creativity and define legal protections, overly restrictive copyright regimes risk hindering access to essential datasets needed to train and deploy AI models effectively. He argued for a balanced approach that ensures robust protections where needed but also provides flexibility through mechanisms like copyright exceptions. Ultimately, he called for inclusive, locally grounded IP frameworks that promote both innovation and equitable access, particularly in the context of growing reliance on AI for public health delivery in Africa. He also encouraged stakeholders to actively contribute to the governance processes shaping AI, which ultimately influence the laws enacted around it and concluded by stating that AI should not be an end to itself but a means to an end to do good.

Ms. Komal Kalha: Bridging Ethics, IP, and Access in the AI Age

Ms. Kalha brought in the industry perspective, outlining how pharmaceutical companies are applying AI across the product lifecycle starting from early-stage research to post-market surveillance. She clarified that while IFPMA itself does not conduct clinical trials and research directly, she provided valuable insights into how its member companies are leveraging AI. These applications span multiple domains, including molecular analysis, clinical trial design, manufacturing, supply chain optimization, and public health surveillance.

She highlighted that AI is a tool and not an end to itself, and therefore often misunderstood, particularly the notion that a single tool can address every challenge. In practice, AI tools are highly specialized. For instance, some are used to address gender bias in clinical trials which is an area where women have historically been underrepresented due to restrictive study protocols. In manufacturing and distribution, AI improves efficiency and forecasting, while in public health, it enables real-time surveillance and decision support. Kalha also noted that while the pharmaceutical industry possesses rich clinical trial datasets, safeguarding patient confidentiality and data often prevents making this data publicly available, which has led to greater reliance on publicly accessible data and internet-based tools for tasks such as data mining and trend analysis.

Ms. Kalha reflected on how ethical principles and regulatory coherence can shape the responsible deployment of AI in healthcare. She highlighted the efforts of IFPMA to engage in global norm-setting, noting its participation as an observer in the WHO’s 2021 AI ethics process. This involvement led to the development of IFPMA’s own AI Ethics Principles in 2022, which emphasize accountability, human oversight, transparency, fairness, and serving the public good.

She emphasized that several countries are in the process of understanding technology with the attempt to define AI and evaluating how the current IP law applies to AI systems and inventions created using AI. The current IP system, depending on the national jurisdiction already affords copyright, database and patent protection to software, including AI-related software and several countries are considering policies, cases and legislation regarding AI. Therefore, any change to existing national and international intellectual property laws would be premature, as many policy and legal decisions are still under deliberation at the national level. As a guiding factor, TRIPS standards should be applied and not diluted.

She emphasized the importance of ensuring that AI tools used in IP management, such as those interfacing with patent filings, are interoperable with broader regulatory and industry systems. This raises challenges that require coordination between organizations like WIPO and industry actors. Ultimately, she believes that IP frameworks must not only support innovation but also align with the technical realities of AI deployment, ensuring that systems can function seamlessly across legal and technological boundaries. Ms. Komal also underscored the large investments being made by research-based companies in new drug discovery.

Conclusion

The session closed with a shared understanding that enabling AI for health requires thoughtful alignment between innovation, IP, and access. As AI tools become increasingly integrated into healthcare systems, it will be essential for legal, technical, and policy frameworks to adapt in ways that support both innovation and equitable use across diverse global contexts.