The world around us is changing rapidly. In the digital age we are all connected, anytime and anywhere. At the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and fueling the change is data. It is unsurprising that data is often referred to as the new oil. And, like oil, data production and refinement can represent a significant investment.
The fourth session of the WIPO Conversation on IP and Frontier Technologies, entitled “Data – Beyond AI in a Fully Interconnected World”, discussed the interaction between IP and Data. There were a mixture of speaker presentations, panel discussions and an open floor allowing all participants to have their views heard by making an intervention.
In this session, the background to the current data debates was discussed, including what data is and why this intangible asset increasingly matters and is changing how we do business, innovate and create. The session also set the scene on some of the key regulatory frameworks for data. Taking all of this into account, the WIPO Conversation asked how data fit into the current IP system and how the IP system can use data.