On March 11, 2021, Christie’s auction house made a landmark sale by auctioning off an entirely digital artwork by the artist Beeple, a $69 million transaction in Ether, a cryptocurrency.1 In doing so, the famous auction house put non-fungible tokens (“NFT”), the product of a decentralized blockchain, in the spotlight. While many extol the benefits of such crypto asset technology, there are also significant risks associated with it,2 requiring greater vigilance when dealing with any investment or transaction involving NFTs. What is an NFT? The distinction between fungible and non-fungible assets is not new. Prior to the invention of blockchain, the distinction was used to differentiate assets based on their availability, fungible assets being highly available and non-fungible assets, scarce. Thus, a fungible asset can easily be replaced by an equivalent asset with the same market value. The best example is money, whether it be coins, notes, deposit money or digital money, such as Bitcoin. On the contrary, a non-fungible asset is unique and irreplaceable. As such, works of art are non-fungible assets in that they are either unique or very few copies of them exist. Their value is a result of their authenticity and provenance, among other things. NFTs are crypto assets associated with blockchain technology that replicate the phenomenon of scarcity. Each NFT is associated with a unique identifier to ensure traceability. In addition to the art market, online, NFTs have been associated with the collection of virtual items, such as sports cards and other memorabilia and collectibles, including the first tweet ever written.3 NFTs can also be associated with tangible goods, in which case they can be used to track exchanges and transactions related to such goods. In 2019, Ernst & Young developed a system of unique digital identifiers for a client to track and manage its collection of fine wines.4 Many projects rely on cryptocurrencies, such as Ether, to create NFTs. This type of cryptocurrency is programmable and allows for metadata to be embedded through a code that becomes the key to tracking assets, such as works of art or other valuables. What are the risks associated with NFTs? Although many praise the benefits of NFTs, in particular the increased traceability of the origin of goods exchanged through digital transactions, it has become clear that the speculative bubble of the past few weeks has, contrary to expectations, resulted in new opportunities for fraud and abuse of the rights associated with works exchanged online. An unregulated market? While there is currently no legislative framework that specifically regulates crypto asset transactions, NFT buyers and sellers are still subject to the laws and regulations currently governing the distribution of financial products and services5, the securities laws6, the Money-Services Business Act7 and the tax laws8. Is an NFT a security? In January 2020, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) identified crypto asset “commodities” as assets that may be subject to securities laws and regulations. Thus, platforms that manage and host NFTs on behalf of their users engage in activities that are governed by the laws that apply to securities trading, as long as they retain possession or control of NFTs. On the contrary, a platform will not be subject to regulatory oversight if: “the underlying crypto asset itself is not a security or derivative; and the contract or instrument for the purchase, sale or delivery of a crypto asset results in an obligation to make immediate delivery of the crypto asset, and is settled by the immediate delivery of the crypto asset to the Platform’s user according to the Platform’s typical commercial practice.”9 Fraud10 NFTs don’t protect collectors and investors from fraud and theft. Among the documented risks, there are fake websites robbing investors of their cryptocurrencies, thefts and/or disappearances of NFTs hosted on platforms, and copyright and trademark infringement. Theft and disappearance of NFT assets As some Nifty Gateway users unfortunately learned the hard way in late March, crypto asset platforms are not inherently immune to the hacking and theft of personal data associated with accounts, including credit card information. With the hacking of many Nifty Gateway accounts, some users have been robbed of their entire NFT collection.11 NFTs are designed to prevent a transaction that has been concluded between two parties from being reversed. Once the transfer of the NFT to another account has been initiated, the user, or a third party such as a bank, cannot reverse the transaction. Cybercrime targeting crypto assets is not in its infancy—similar schemes have been seen in thefts of the cryptocurrency Ether. Copyright infringement and theft of artwork images The use of NFTs makes it possible to identify three types of problems that could lead to property right and copyright infringement: It is possible to create more than one NFT for the same work of art or collectible, thus generating separate chains of ownership. NFTs can be created for works that already exist and are not owned by the person marketing them. There are no mechanisms to verify copyrights and property rights associated with transacted NFTs. This creates false chains of ownership. The authenticity of the original depends too heavily on URLs that are vulnerable and could eventually disappear.12 For the time being, these problems have yet to be addressed by both the various platforms and the other parties involved in NFT transactions, including art galleries. Thus, the risks are borne solely by the buyer. This situation calls for increased accountability for platforms and others involved in transactions. The authenticity of the NFTs traded must be verified, as should the identity of the parties involved in a transaction. Money laundering and proceeds of crime In September 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)13 published a report regarding the main risks associated with virtual assets and with platforms offering services relating to such virtual assets. In particular, FATF pointed out that money laundering and other types of illicit activity financing are facilitated by virtual assets, which are more conducive to rapid cross-border transactions in decentralized markets that are not regulated by national authorities;14 that is, the online marketplaces where cryptocurrencies and decentralized assets are traded on blockchains. Among other things, FATF pointed to the anonymity of the parties to transactions as a factor that increases risk. Considering all the risks associated with NFTs, we recommend taking the utmost precaution before investing in this category of crypto assets. In fact, on April 23, 2021, the Autorité des marchés financiers reiterated its warning about the “inordinately high risks” associated with investments involving cryptocurrencies and crypto assets.15 The best practices to implement prior to any transactions are: obtaining evidence identifying the party you are transacting with, if possible, safeguarding your crypto assets yourself, and checking with regulatory bodies to ensure that the platform on which the exchange will take place is compliant with applicable laws and regulations regarding the issuance of securities and derivatives. https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/beeple-first-5000-days/lots/2020 On April 23, 2021, the Autorité des marchés financiers reiterated its warnings about issuing tokens and investing in crypto assets. https://lautorite.qc.ca/en/general-public/media-centre/news/fiche-dactualites/amf-warns-about-the-risks-associated-with-crypto-assets https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-dorsey-nft-idUSKBN2BE2KJ https://www.ey.com/en_gl/news/2019/08/ey-helps-wiv-technology-accelerate-fine-wine-investing-with-blockchain Act respecting the regulation of the financial sector, CQLR, c. E-6.1; Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services, CQLR, c. D-9.2. Securities Act, CQLR., c. V-1.1; see also the regulatory sandbox produced by the CSA: https://www.securities-administrators.ca/industry_resources.aspx?ID=1715&LangType=1033 CQLR, c. E-12.000001 https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/compliance/digital-currency/cryptocurrency-guide.html; https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/fair-for-all/helping-you-meet-your-obligations/virtual-currency/reporting-virtual-currency-income/ https://lautorite.qc.ca/fileadmin/lautorite/reglementation/valeurs-mobilieres/0-avis-acvm-staff/2020/2020janv16-21-327-avis-acvm-en.pdf https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/03/15/crypto-art-market-infiltrated-fakes-thieves-scammers/ https://www.coindesk.com/nifty-gateway-nft-hack-lessons; https://news.artnet.com/opinion/nifty-gateway-nft-hack-gray-market-1953549 https://blog.malwarebytes.com/explained/2021/03/nfts-explained-daylight-robbery-on-the-blockchain/ FATF is an independent international body that assesses the risks associated with money laundering and the financing of both terrorist activities and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. https://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/Virtual-Assets-Red-Flag-Indicators.pdf, p. 1. https://lautorite.qc.ca/en/general-public/media-centre/news/fiche-dactualites/amf-warns-about-the-risks-associated-with-crypto-assets

For the time being, there are no specific laws governing the use of artificial intelligence in Canada. Certainly, the laws on the use of personal information and those that prohibit discrimination still apply, no matter if the technologies involved are so-called artificial intelligence technologies or conventional ones. However, the application of such laws to artificial intelligence raises a number of questions, especially when dealing with “artificial neural networks,” because the opacity of the algorithms behind these makes it difficult for those affected to understand the decision-making mechanisms at work. Such artificial neural networks are different in that they provide only limited explanations as to their internal operation. On November 12, 2020, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) published its recommendations for a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence.1 Pointing out that the use of artificial intelligence requiring personal information can have serious privacy implications, the OPC has made several recommendations, which involve the creation of the following, in particular: A requirement for those who develop such systems to ensure that privacy is protected in the design of artificial intelligence systems; A right for individuals to obtain an explanation, in understandable terms, to help them understand decisions made about them by an artificial intelligence system, which would also involve the assurance that such explanations are based on accurate information and are not discriminatory or biased; A right to contest decisions resulting from automated decision making; A right for the regulator to require evidence of the above. It should be noted that these recommendations include the possibility of imposing financial penalties on companies that would fail to abide by this regulatory framework. Moreover, contrary to the approach adopted in the General Data Protection Regulation and the Government of Quebec’s Bill 64, the rights to explanation and contestation would not be limited solely to automated decisions, but would also cover cases where an artificial intelligence system assists a human decision-maker. It is likely that these proposals will eventually provide a framework for the operation of intelligence systems already under development. It would thus be prudent for designers to take these recommendations into account and incorporate them into their artificial intelligence system development parameters as of now. Should these recommendations be adopted, it will also become necessary to consider how to explain the mechanisms behind the systems making or suggesting decisions based on artificial intelligence. As mentioned in these recommendations, “while trade secrets may require organizations to be careful with the explanations they provide, some form of meaningful explanation should always be possible without compromising intellectual property.”2 For this reason, it may be crucial to involve lawyers specializing in these matters from the start when designing solutions that use artificial intelligence and personal information. https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/about-the-opc/what-we-do/consultations/completed-consultations/consultation-ai/reg-fw_202011/ Ibid.

Artificial intelligence is one of the areas of technology where there is currently the most research and development in Canada. To preserve Canada's advantageous position in this area, it is important to consider all forms of intellectual property protection that may apply. Although copyright has historically been the preferred form of intellectual property in computer science, patents are nevertheless very useful in the field of artificial intelligence. The monopoly they grant can be an important incentive to foster innovation. This is why the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) felt the need to report on the state of artificial intelligence and patents in Canada. In its report titled Processing Artificial Intelligence: Highlighting the Canadian Patent Landscape published in October 2020, CIPO presents statistics that clearly demonstrate the upward trend in patent activity by Canadian researchers in the area of artificial intelligence. However, this increase remains much less marked than those observed in the United States and China, the champions in the field. Nevertheless, Canada ranked sixth in the world in the number of patented inventions attributed to Canadian researchers and institutions. International patent activity in AI between 1998 et 2017 Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Industry, 2020   International patent activity by assignee's country of origin in AI between 1998 and 2017 Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Industry, 2020   Canadian researchers are particularly specialized in natural language processing, which is not surprising for a bilingual country. But their strengths also lie in knowledge representation and reasoning, and in computer vision and robotics. We can also see that, generally speaking, the most active areas of application for artificial intelligence in Canada are in life sciences and medicine and computer networks, followed by energy management, in particular. This seems to be a natural fit for Canada, a country with well-developed healthcare systems and telecommunications and energy infrastructure that reflects its vast territory. The only shortcoming is the lack of representation of women in artificial intelligence patent applications in Canada. This is an important long-term issue, since maintaining the country's competitiveness will necessarily require ensuring that all the best talent is involved in the development of artificial intelligence technology in Canada. Regardless of which of these fields you work in, it may be important to consult a patent agent early in the invention process, particularly to ensure optimal protection of your inventions and to maximize the benefits for Canadian institutions and businesses. Please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team!

The COVID-19 pandemic has been not only causing major social upheaval but disrupting business development and the economy as well. Nevertheless, since last March, we have seen many developments and new projects involving self-driving vehicles (SDV). Here is an overview. Distancing made easy thanks to contactless delivery In mid-April 2020, General Motors’ Cruise SDVs were dispatched to assist two food banks in the delivery of nearly 4,000 meals in eight days in the San Francisco Bay Area. Deliveries were made with two volunteer drivers overseeing the operation of the Level 3 SDVs. Rob Grant, Vice President of Global Government Affairs at Cruise, commented on the usefulness of SDVs: “What I do see is this pandemic really showing where self-driving vehicles can be of use in the future.  That includes in contactless delivery like we’re doing here.”1 Also in California in April, SDVs operated by the start-up Nuro Inc. were made available to transport medical equipment in San Mateo County and Sacramento.  Toyota Pony SDVs were, for their part, used to deliver meals to local shelters in the city of Fremont, California.  Innovation: The first Level 4 driverless vehicle service In July 2020, Navya Group successfully implemented a Level 4 self-driving vehicles service on a closed site. Launched in partnership with Groupe Keolis, the service has been transporting visitors and athletes on the site of the National Shooting Sports Centre in Châteauroux, France, from the parking lot to the reception area.  This is a great step forward—it is the first trial of a level 4 vehicle, meaning that it is fully automated and does not require a human driver in the vehicle itself to control it should a critical situation occur. Driverless buses and dedicated lanes in the coming years In August 2020, the state of Michigan announced that it would take active steps to create dedicated road lanes exclusively for SDVs on a 65 km stretch of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbour.  This initiative will begin with a study to be conducted over the next three years. One of the goals of this ambitious project is to have driverless buses operating in the corridor connecting the University of Michigan and the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in downtown Detroit. In September 2020, the first SDV circuit in Japan was inaugurated at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. The regular route travels 700 metres through the airport.  A tragedy to remind us that exercising caution is key  On March 18, 2018, in Tempe, Arizona, a pedestrian was killed in a collision with a Volvo SUV operated by an Uber Technologies automated driving system that was being tested. The vehicle involved in the accident, which was being fine-tuned, corresponded to a Level 3 SDV under SAE International Standard J3016, requiring a human driver to remain alert at all times in order to take control of the vehicle in a critical situation. The investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the vehicle’s automated driving system had detected the pedestrian, but was unable to classify her as such and thus predict her path. In addition, video footage of the driver inside the SDV showed that she did not have her eyes on the road at the time of the accident, but rather was looking at her cell phone on the vehicle’s console. In September 2020, the authorities indicted the driver of the vehicle and charged her with negligent homicide. The driver pleaded not guilty and the pre-trial conference will be held in late October 2020.  We will keep you informed of developments in this case.   In all sectors of the economy, including the transportation industry and more specifically the self-driving vehicles industry, projects have been put on hold because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, many projects that have been introduced, such as contactless delivery projects, are now more important than ever. Apart from the Navya Group project, which involves Level 4 vehicles, all the initiatives mentioned concern Level 3 vehicles. These vehicles, which are allowed on Quebec roads, must always have a human driver present. The recent charges against the inattentive driver in Arizona serve as a reminder to all drivers of Level 3 SDVs that regardless of the context of an accident, they may be held liable. The implementation of SDVs around the world is slow, but steadily gaining ground. A number of projects will soon be rolled out, including in Quebec. As such initiatives grow in number, SDVs will become more socially acceptable, and seeing these vehicles as something normal on our roads is right around the corner.   Financial Post, April 29, 2020, “Self-driving vehicles get in on the delivery scene amid COVID-19,”.