Artificial Intelligence, Intellectual Property and Criminal Liability: Exploring the role of AI in technology-driven crimes and the legal challenges of accountability

Abstract

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed innovation, automation, and intellectual property (IP) creation while simultaneously facilitating technology-driven crimes such as deep fakes, cyber fraud, automated piracy, and IP infringement. Existing criminal law frameworks, which primarily rely on the principles of actus reus and mens rea, face significant challenges in attributing criminal liability when offences involve autonomous or semi-autonomous AI systems. This study examines the legal accountability of AI in technology-related offences, particularly those involving intellectual property violations, and explores the liability of developers, users, deployers, and corporations in the absence of AI legal personality. Adopting a doctrinal, comparative, and analytical research methodology, the study analyses statutory provisions, judicial decisions, policy frameworks, and scholarly literature from India, the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The findings reveal that existing criminal and intellectual property laws are inadequate to address the complex distribution of responsibility arising from AI-enabled offences. Comparative analysis demonstrates that while several jurisdictions have introduced regulatory measures to govern AI, significant accountability gaps remain due to the absence of harmonized legal standards. The study proposes a hybrid liability framework incorporating elements of strict and vicarious liability, algorithmic transparency, audit mechanisms, explain ability, and human oversight to strengthen accountability. It concludes that an adaptive and internationally coordinated legal framework is essential to balance technological innovation with effective criminal enforcement and intellectual property protection in the evolving AI ecosystem.