Ride the Lightning

Patent Office Say Artificial Intelligence Cannot be An Inventor

May 5, 2020

CNN reported on April 30 that the US Patent Office has denied a pair of patents filed on behalf of DABUS, an artificial intelligence system, and published a ruling that says US patents can only be granted to "natural persons."

The two patents were for a food container and a flashlight, and were filed by Stephen Thaler, an AI researcher and DABUS' creator. According to the filing from the USPTO, Thaler calls DABUS a "creativity machine" and wanted the AI to get full credit for the inventions. The filing says Thaler argued that "allowing a machine to be listed as an inventor would incentivize innovation using AI systems."

According to the USPTO's ruling, inventions can only be submitted (and if you're philosophical, conceived) by a "natural person," as reflected in the language of patent law and in previous federal court rulings.

Patents that list DABUS as the inventor have also been denied in Europe and the UK for similar reasons related to personhood. The European Patent Office also raised the issue of who, exactly, would enforce the rights granted to an inventor under such a circumstance.

There's been a lot of buzz around this topic. And we have an answer, for now. Don't be sure that the answer won't change in the future!

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
Email: Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com
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