Advanced technologies of 4th Industrial Revolution can be used both to spread illicit trade, and to combat piracy and counterfeiting, said the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on Wednesday 

“Most new technologies have a potential threat to IP but they also pose an opportunity to enforce IP.  They will have both elements in them at the same time,” said EUIPO EU Observatory Expert Mr. Erling Vestergaard, in a session discussing IPR Protection and Enforcement in the Digital Age. 

“Technology that hold immense power to drive innovative solutions to enduring human problems. These are challenging but exciting times, and with the good, comes the bad, and vice versa,” affirmed Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines Director General Josephine R. Santiago. 

According to Mr. Vestergaard, new technologies can be used to create decentralised marketplaces which is not run by a single entity that can be sought out and charged, but is operated by a network of encrypted computers. These marketplaces will be difficult to take down and legally prosecute. 

The use of cryptocurrencies in criminal and infringement activities will likewise be difficult to investigate because of the anonymity and lack of regulation of  cryptocurrency. Robot-initiated infringement websites is also seen as a rising threat. 

On the upside, big data mining and AI technology can be used for automated risk analysis and control, specifically in improving risk mitigation in border control. AI and image recognition technology can be used to improve detection of illegal goods at the border,  noted Mr.Vestergaard.  Data fingerprinting can be used to track identification of infringing materials exchanged online.

“All these new technologies can be applied for both good and bad,” Mr. Vestergaard reiterated. 

This topic was among the many issues explored in the Regional Workshop on IPR Enforcement, held by the EUIPO and IPOPHL under the ARISE+ IPR Project.