The Impact of the EU AI Act's Transparency Requirements on AI Innovation

The increasing capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) raise concerns about the risks associated with the technology. The European Union, therefore , proposed the Artificial Intelligence Act aiming to mitigate the risks of AI by fostering their safety and transparency. However, there is controversial debate about its impact on AI innovation. While the AI Act aims to provide legal certainty guiding innovation, the criticism refers to exaggerated bureaucratic burden such as transparency requirements impeding innovation. Based on a multivocal literature review, we examine the impact of the AI Act's transparency requirements on patenting as a means for AI innovation. Our results indicate that the transparency requirements do not necessarily hinder the patentability of AI innovations. Instead, existing concerns primarily rely on uncertainties within key terms of the AI Act. Accordingly, we propose an improvement suggestion focus-ing on resolving existing uncertainties.