AI as an object of intellectual property law (copyright): features of the legal nature and form of disposal of such an object

What is the so-called AI? Can it live an independent life without human participation? Can it create itself, set itself tasks, etc. and many other questions seem to the author of the study to be especially relevant in the era of new technologies in which we live. Understanding the legal nature of AI is important from the point of view of its functioning and the consequences of such functioning. In particular, this issue becomes relevant in the context of intellectual property law, in connection with the creation of non-original objects and the emergence of a special kind of right (sui generis) to such objects. Due to the emergence of a special kind of right (sui generis), in the opinion of the author of the study, a connection is traced with the fact that AI is a computer program, which is the object of copyright, and therefore has an author (authors) who created such an object of copyright, and therefore an object of intellectual property law. If AI is a computer program, then it is also possible to dispose of property rights, right? The current norm of Art. 33 of the relevant Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights” draws attention to such forms of disposal as the transfer (alienation) of property rights to the object of copyright and a license agreement. Accordingly, one of the tasks that the author of the article sets himself is to study the features of the legal nature of such agreements, in the aspect that the property right to generate a non-original object is transferred (alienated) or such property right is provided for use. Another task that the author of the article sets himself is to study AI (computer program) from the point of view of using a database of copyright objects or objects of related rights for the further generation of non-original objects. Why is this task important? It is important from the point of view of respecting the rights of copyright holders or subjects of related rights, whose objects are used in the creation of the relevant databases. In this aspect, another question arises: what if the authors of the AI (computer program) are also the authors of the database or have a special right (sui generis) to it? In this case, do the AI (computer) program and the database constitute one indivisible whole, or are they two separate objects? In connection with the research conducted, the author of the article proposes an author’s definition of AI (computer program), the introduction of AI into copyright objects alongside computer programs both under the Civil Code of Ukraine and the relevant Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights” by supplementing the current versions of the articles.