WIPO Judges Forum Opens With AI Copyright and Evidence Questions at the Center

ENGLISH · NUSAPAT NEWS
WIPO Judges Forum: AI and IP in Focus

Illustrative photo: Nastuh Abootalebi / Unsplash. Language caption added by NUSAPAT.

Judges from multiple jurisdictions meet in Geneva on 14–15 October for the 2026 WIPO Intellectual Property Judges Forum. WIPO says the annual hybrid event will examine how fast-moving innovation and cross-border use of intellectual property are challenging courts.

AI questions move beyond training data

The opening AI-and-IP session is scheduled to examine copyright eligibility for works made with AI assistance, infringement and personality-rights questions involving generated outputs, liability for infringing outputs, and the use of AI technologies in trade-secret disputes—including how evidence should be assessed. The programme makes clear that the discussion is broader than whether training data may be used.

Another session looks at AI in court operations: research, transcription, evidence analysis, drafting and case management. The agenda also flags reliability, transparency, fairness, human rights and human oversight, with a stated aim of preserving human judgment and setting limits on automation.

What companies should watch

The forum is a judicial exchange, not a new treaty, court ruling or binding global standard. Its value for businesses is the chance to see which practical questions judges consider difficult: proof of human contribution, output similarity, responsibility across an AI supply chain, and safeguards for confidential information. Those questions can affect product launches, licensing terms and litigation strategy across markets.

For IP owners and AI developers, the near-term takeaway is to keep records: identify source materials and permissions, document human creative or technical input, retain model and prompt records where relevant, and restrict access to trade secrets. These practices do not predetermine legal outcomes, but they can help explain how a work or system was made and used.

Sources

• WIPO, 2026 Intellectual Property Judges Forum programme and practical information
• WIPO, Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence