New rules for intellectual property rights in the age of AI
The original idea of intellectual property rights originated in a world of scarcity. The Statute of Anne of 1710 introduced copyright for the first time to give authors economic control over their works and to promote innovation through temporary monopolies. The US explicitly incorporated this logic into its constitution – not to protect “intellectual property,” but to deliberately promote science and culture.
Today, more than 300 years later, we live in a world of digital abundance. Thanks to the internet and AI, creativity, ideas, and content are available in almost unlimited quantities. AI generates text, music, images, and videos in seconds, often indistinguishable from human creations. The historical logic of copyright – artificially creating creative scarcity – has thus finally lost its justification.
Science could serve as a model here: research is based on clear and open referencing of existing sources. Scientific progress does not arise from exclusive monopolies, but from transparent further development. A modern approach to creative content should follow this principle.
Patent law also needs to be reformed
The patent system suffers from similar problems: originally intended to protect technical innovations, patents are now often used by large corporations to block the market. Smaller companies are increasingly foregoing patents and instead focusing on speed, customer-centric implementation, and open innovation.
Only trademark rights continue to fulfill a contemporary function: they ensure global communication and trust – values that are even more important than ever in the age of AI.
It is high time to radically rethink intellectual property rights or eliminate them altogether where they no longer fit. Instead of artificial monopolies, we need flexible approaches that enable innovation and empower companies to create real value – rather than preventing it.
Eliminate or fundamentally reshape copyright – Why creativity no longer needs government protection
The idea behind copyright was simple: creative individuals should be able to profit from their works for a limited period of time in order to promote innovation and new ideas. Over 300 years ago, in a world of manual reproduction, this made sense. But those days are now well and truly over.
The internet first eliminated the scarcity of distribution. Suddenly, content could be distributed without limits and at virtually no cost. Now, following social media platforms and the spread of AI systems, we are experiencing the next step: the elimination of the scarcity of creation itself. Generative AI now seemingly effortlessly produces unlimited amounts of creative content, from text and images to videos and music.
Creativity is no longer a scarce commodity that needs to be protected by artificial monopolies. The real problem today is orientation and relevance – not the availability of content.
Time for a new model: Why copyright is outdated
Court rulings in the US show that AI-generated content is usually considered “transformative” and therefore fair use. Copyright is therefore becoming increasingly irrelevant from a legal perspective. Instead of continuing to cling to copyright, we should follow the example of science: science has always functioned by clearly referencing existing sources and links. We could adopt this principle to ensure quality and relevance standards – without copyright.
Technological solutions such as blockchain-based smart contracts enable automated, fair remuneration in real time and could completely replace the old, slow, and inefficient copyright system in the medium term. Similarly, the so-called “pay-per-crawl” model, as proposed by Cloudflare, could become established: AI companies pay directly and automatically for high-quality content instead of operating in legal gray areas, as is the case today.
But perhaps no additional protective mechanisms are needed anymore. Because one thing is clear today: creativity and innovation no longer arise from state-guaranteed property rights, but from quick action, genuine understanding of customers, and smart implementation. The most successful companies of our time – Amazon, Spotify, and Netflix – owe their success not to copyright or patent protection, but to speed, implementation power, and genuine customer focus.
Copyright is an outdated model. Companies, investors, and politicians should abolish it and instead establish transparent, pragmatic quality and reference standards – in line with a modern and open knowledge society.
Radically rethinking patents: Why speed is more important than protection today
Patents were once created to protect technical innovations and promote investment in research and development. Over a hundred years ago, this logic made sense, but today it is diametrically opposed to the reality of global markets and digital innovation cycles.
Large companies are increasingly using patents strategically as weapons against competitors. They block markets and prevent innovation instead of promoting it. Patent disputes between giants such as Apple, Samsung, and Qualcomm cost millions, drag on for years, and generate little social or economic added value.
At the same time, small and medium-sized enterprises – the real drivers of innovation in Europe – have recognized that patents offer them virtually no real protection. Patent applications are expensive, slow and limited to individual markets. International competitors, especially those from China and Southeast Asia, copy technologies faster than patent attorneys can react. The supposed competitive advantage of patents thus melts away to nothing.
Success through implementation – not through intellectual property rights
Successful companies have therefore long since focused on other factors: speed, agile implementation, and consistent customer orientation. It is not the first to patent an innovation who wins, but the first to successfully establish it on the market. Today, no patent provides lasting protection against competition – but fast, flexible organizations with excellent implementation capabilities secure long-term competitive advantages.
It is high time to radically rethink or even abolish patents. Instead of maintaining slow, expensive, and inefficient property rights, we should create framework conditions that promote implementation speed and genuine innovative strength. Resources do not belong in patent offices and courtrooms, but in rapid product development and market-oriented implementation.
Strengthening trademark rights: The only protections we truly need
Unlike patents and copyrights, trademark rights continue to fulfill an essential and indispensable function: they ensure global communication and create trust through clear, recognizable quality promises. Trademarks do not protect abstract ideas or technical inventions, but rather the concrete connection between companies and consumers.
Today, brands are the foundation and anchor points of our globalized economy. Whether Apple, Bosch, or Adidas – strong brands facilitate purchasing decisions, reduce complexity, and guarantee standards across cultural and geographical boundaries.
In this respect, trademark brands function similarly to DIN norms or ISO standards: they form universal means of communication that make global cooperation possible in the first place. Without protected trademark rights, customers and business partners would have to constantly reevaluate whom they can trust – which would fragment markets and make value creation much more difficult.
In the digital age, only the brand protects you
In the age of AI, the importance of trademark rights is growing even more: in a world of unlimited creative and technical possibilities, strong brands offer something that cannot be scaled or copied at will – genuine trust and authentic quality. Consumers will rely even more heavily on brands in the future, particularly to distinguish AI-generated content from genuine, high-quality offerings.
In order for brands to fulfill their function, we need clear and consistently enforceable regulations to protect against trademark abuse. What is important are simple and transparent, globally applicable standards instead of complicated bureaucratic processes, such as those we see today in the patent system.
Companies should invest specifically in strong, credible brands – they are the only intellectual property rights that really have a future in the digital age.
What intellectual property rights we really need in the future
In addition to trademark rights, in the age of AI we need new, intelligent property rights that promote innovation rather than stifling it. Three areas are particularly crucial: data protection, clear property rights for high-quality knowledge sources and AI training data sets, and the protection of critical digital infrastructure.
Data protection: Enabling rather than hindering
Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is currently based on complicated rules and prohibitions that often hinder innovation. But in the age of AI, we need data protection that enables rather than hinders.
The principle: full transparency instead of strict prohibitions. Users and companies should always know who is using their data and for what purpose, and be able to control its release themselves. This approach builds trust and motivates people to consciously share data for innovative applications.
To achieve this, we need simple, global, and understandable standards. Technical solutions such as independent data trustees, data protection “by design,” or pseudonymized data sets ensure that personal data remains usable without compromising privacy.
Enabling data protection is not a burden, but a competitive advantage: Companies that handle data transparently and responsibly gain long-term trust and create sustainable market opportunities.
Protection rights for high-quality knowledge sources and AI training datasets
The rise of AI-based systems is creating a new market for high-quality, validated knowledge sources and data sets. Powerful AI models require structured, verified, and quality-assured data. This is precisely where there is an urgent need for new protection and remuneration mechanisms.
Models such as Cloudflare’s “pay-per-crawl” approach offer a practical solution: AI providers pay specifically for high-quality training data and knowledge sources. This creates incentives for data producers to ensure and continuously improve quality. Blockchain-based smart contracts could regulate this remuneration in a transparent, automated, and fair manner.
Unlike traditional patent protection, this is not about exclusive monopolies, but about an open, transparent marketplace for quality. Protection rights no longer serve to exclude, but to monetize high-quality knowledge sources and data sets in a fair and targeted manner.
Protection of critical digital infrastructure
The increasing use of autonomous AI systems creates new risks: digital infrastructures—from transportation and energy systems to financial networks—are potential targets for AI-based manipulation.
We therefore need clear protective rights and binding standards. Companies and public institutions must be obliged to implement robust security measures: transparent algorithms, independent audits, and clear emergency and fallback mechanisms.
Europe should take an active role here and set globally binding standards. Protecting critical digital infrastructure is not an optional task, but an absolute necessity for social and economic stability in the AI age.
Radically rethinking intellectual property rights in the age of AI
Traditional protection rights such as copyright and patents originate from a world of scarce creativity and innovation. In the age of AI, however, ideas and content are available in abundance. State-created monopolies have lost their justification and today often hinder more than they promote.
Copyright should therefore be abolished or replaced by flexible reference and remuneration models that promote personal responsibility and the free exchange of knowledge. Patents have also lost their legitimacy—we do not need bureaucratic and expensive protection procedures, but should instead focus consistently on speed, implementation power, and customer orientation.
Trademark rights, on the other hand, remain indispensable. Especially in an AI-dominated world, brands create trust, orientation, and quality. They ensure voluntary, global cooperation – in line with entrepreneurial freedom and personal responsibility.
Furthermore, we do not need new bans or government intervention, but rather intelligent protection principles based on personal responsibility and transparency:
- Data protection that enables innovation by allowing individuals and companies to retain control over their data.
- Voluntary, transparent models for monetizing high-quality knowledge sources and AI training data, instead of government-imposed monopolies.
- Clear, binding security standards for critical digital infrastructures, where companies develop and implement solutions on their own responsibility instead of calling on the government.
Conclusion: Freedom instead of property rights – innovation requires personal responsibility
Entrepreneurs and investors should take responsibility for shaping this change – without hiding behind government protection and monopolies. Freedom, responsibility, and initiative are the real keys to success in the AI age.
Those who still rely on government protection rights and regulatory intervention are squandering valuable innovation potential and jeopardizing their own competitiveness. The future belongs to those who redefine intellectual property rights: as an opportunity and a driver for freedom, innovation, and personal responsibility – not as government regulation or outdated monopolies.
