US Patent Office: artificial intelligence cannot be an inventor
Steve Johnson/Unsplash
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published guidance that artificial intelligence systems cannot be considered inventors in patent applications.
Here's What We Know
According to the update, humans are allowed to use AI tools in the creation of inventions subject to patent protection. They are also required to disclose the use of such technologies in the application description.
In doing so, the person using AI must have made a significant contribution to the creation of the invention.
"A significant contribution could be shown by the way the person constructs the prompt in view of a specific problem to elicit a particular solution from the AI system" the USPTO said in a statement.
At the same time, simply initiating the work of AI or evaluating the result is not enough to obtain a patent, the office emphasised.
The clarification confirms the USPTO's position taken back in 2020. Then researcher Stephen Thaler applied for a patent, specifying as the inventor the AI system DABUS, which he created.
The USPTO rejected the application, citing the fact that only a "natural person" can be a patent holder. The office's decision was later upheld by the court.
The USPTO and the US Copyright Office have since initiated a series of hearings to consider the possibilities of AI in the intellectual property system.
Go Deeper:
- UK Supreme Court: artificial intelligence cannot be the inventor of a patent
- UK Supreme Court: artificial intelligence cannot be the inventor of a patent
Source: The Verge
