IP Financing (gemeinsames Seminar mit dem Europa Institut der Universität Zürich)
13. März 2024 in Zürich
In Switzerland, there is no law applying specifically to AI. Thus, on April 27, 2016, Federal Deputy Min Li Marti submitted a postulate 16.3320 – currently still pending in front of the National Council – mandating the Federal Council to write a report about the risks and opportunities pertaining to AI and robotics. The postulate notably outlined the legal questions stemming from AI (inter alia liability, regulatory framework applicable to the testing of autonomous cars and automatic weapons) that would potentially call for legislative amendments.
In answer to this postulate, the Federal Council stated that at this juncture, it was impossible to assess the impact of AI and also pointed out that the consequences of the digital revolution would be scrutinized in two of its upcoming reports. The first report published on January 11, 2017 dealt with the legal framework of the digital economy and mentioned some questions in relation to the Fintech sector. The second report issued on November 8, 2017 addressed the challenges that the digital age would trigger with respect to labor law and examined notably the topic of robot taxation which it rejected.
On the European level, the European Union Parliament adopted on February 16, 2017, a non-binding recommendation resolution to the European Commission about Civil Law Rules on Robotics which entailed notably suggestions linked to the technology neutrality approach with respect to IP, the creation of a compensation fund destined to cover damages that could derive from certain robots and the creation of a specific legal personality. The recommendation rejected robot taxation since the latter could hinder innovation.
The above-mentioned developments outline the importance of the questions arising out of this technology and the diversity of the legal challenges it will spark. Nonetheless the route leading to the adoption of a specific legal framework will still be lengthy.