Artificial intelligence is not just another technological phenomenon anymore; it is a force that shapes the modern global economy. The emergence of machine learning, data-driven analytics, and automation has altered competitive advantage and innovation in the industry. However, as these systems gain more commerce centrality, questions regarding their protection, both legally and economically, become increasingly pressing. The border between AI, trademarks, and trade secrets requires careful consideration in Pakistan, where the intellectual property legislation is still immature, and the digital age needs to be addressed.

Current AI systems are not tools but assets. They are not valuable in terms of tangible elements but in the intangible algorithms, data models, and decision-making structures that stand out in them. Everything, including financial forecasting and logistics optimisation, healthcare diagnostics, and targeted advertising, is kindled by intangible innovation. In this type of economy, the protection of intellectual property is not a formal process but the basis for competition.

Conventional legal processes, however, were never designed to account for this fact. An example is patents, which necessitate the publication of the inner mechanisms of an invention - something that is incongruous with the business requirement of secrecy in the AI development. A neural network cannot be copyrighted to protect the........

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