Summary
Assuming that the singularity is eventually realized, some of the legal institutions that we take for granted, specifically those relating to “intellectual property” (IP – namely, copyrights and patents), may pose some problems. IP law concerns the ownership of expressions of ideas, and not ideas themselves. Given the nature and trajectory of converging technologies, IP laws as they currently exist may impede the development of such technologies. Examples of “patent thickets” that appear to impede other rapidly evolving technologies already abound (as in the smartphone arena). Patents and copyrights may pose even more intriguing problems once the singularity is achieved because our notions of who may own what will likely radically change. Will artificial intelligences, for example, compete with us over rights to create, and will we be legally or morally precluded from ownership rights in technologies that make such agents function? Before the singularity arrives, we would do well to work through some of these legal conundrums raised and discussed below.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Ass’n for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad, 133 S. Ct. 2107, 569 U.S., 186 L. Ed. 2d 124 (2013).
Bell, J. J. (2003). Exploring The “Singularity”. Futurist, 37(3), 18–25.
Bilski v. Kappos, 130 S. Ct. 3218, 561 U.S. 593, 177 L. Ed. 2d 792 (2010).
Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303, 100 S. Ct. 2204, 65 L. Ed. 2d 144 (1980).
Eckersley, R. (2001). Economic progress, social disquiet: the modern paradox. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 60(3), 89–97.
Johnson, L. (2009). Are We Ready for Nanotechnology? How to Define Humaness In Public Policy. How to Define Humaness In Public Policy.
Mayo Collaborative v. Prometheus Labs., 132 S. Ct. 1289, 566 U.S. 10, 182 L. Ed. 2d 321 (2012). Patent Act: 35 U.S.C. § 161.
Vinge, V. (1993). The coming technological singularity. Whole Earth Review, 81, 88–95.
Yampolskiy, R. V. (2013). What to Do with the Singularity Paradox? (pp. 397–413). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Koepsell, D. (2017). Can the Singularity Be Patented? (And Other IP Conundrums for Converging Technologies). In: Callaghan, V., Miller, J., Yampolskiy, R., Armstrong, S. (eds) The Technological Singularity. The Frontiers Collection. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54033-6_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54033-6_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-54031-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-54033-6
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)