Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to those systems of computer science that demonstrate intelligent behavior and are concerned with building smart machines. Some recent headlines refer to paintings produced by machines or drugs discovered by computer programs. The number of enterprises implementing AI technologies has grown by 270 percent over the past four years with a profound impact on the world. AI is already having a significant impact on the creation and distribution of goods and services. One sector that has been revolutionized by AI is healthcare, where drug discovery and development has been speeding up.

The Property Rights Alliance submitted comments to express its significant concerns about the Dutch Executive Order– a proposed bill that would introduce plain packaging (PP) for vaping products and e-cigarettes from 1 January 2022. This measure will create an inhospitable environment for intellectual property rights. Intellectual property rights are human property rights covering dynamic assets and should never be weakened or diluted to meet other political objectives.

Last week, the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank, confirmed what many of us already know - property rights in South Africa are in serious trouble. Of the 42 indices that the Economic Freedom of the World report measures, South Africa's score has quickly declined in the area that is arguably the most important for a functioning and prosperous nation: the protection of property rights.

The unitary patent is designed to lower the regulatory burdens affecting IP-intensive industries. It reduces unnecessary compliance costs associated with current regulations and promotes innovation, which is a driving force for economic success. Yet questions about how the UP system will adjust to an EU without the UK and allow a patent term adjustment period to ensure adequate protection in the market need to be resolved sufficiently before the new system begins.