AI systems cannot be named on patent filings, US court rules
Inventors must be 'natural persons', to prevent abuse by corporations
A US federal court has ruled that artificial intelligence systems cannot be listed as an inventor on patents, because the US Patent Act allows only a human to be named in that field.
The decision came last week in a case concerning two patent applications filed by Imagination Engines Inc. founder Stephen Thaler, for a 'creativity machine' called DABUS.
DABUS is part of a group called the Artificial Inventor Project, run by University of Surrey Law Professor Ryan Abbott.
Abbott's team, which is lobbying for AI recognition worldwide, enlisted Thaler to create an AI system whose main purpose was to invent new things.
The team filed patent applications in 17 jurisdictions worldwide listing DABUS as the inventor for Fractal Container (a beverage container based on fractal geometry) and Neural Flame (a light beacon that flashes in a way to attract more attention).
However, the US Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) rejected Thaler's applications last year, on the grounds that only 'natural persons' can be listed as an inventor on the patent paperwork.
Thaler challenged the decision in the in federal court in eastern Virginia, arguing that it was "arbitrary, capricious, [and] an abuse of direction".
"There is no statute or case that has found an AI-generated invention cannot be patented, or that holds an AI cannot be listed as an inventor," Thaler's lawyers stated in the lawsuit [pdf].
"Rather, any discussion of inventors as natural persons has been based on the assumption that only a person could invent, or to prevent corporate and sovereign inventorship at the expense of a human inventor."
But US District Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected Thaler's contentions in her ruling. She said US patent law clearly states that "individuals" must take an oath to swear they are the inventor on a patent application.
The judge also rejected arguments that allowing patents would create incentives for the development of AI technology. She said that such incentives are up to Congress, not the courts.
Abbott's team plans to appeal the decision.
"This decision would prohibit protection for AI-generated inventions and it diverges from the findings of the Federal Court of Australia," they told Bloomberg.
While the US court has declined to allow AI machines to be listed as inventors on patents, not everyone thinks that way.
The patent office in South Africa issued a patent listing DABUS as the inventor in July.
A federal judge in Australia has also ruled that a nonhuman could be named as the inventor on a patent application. The ruling overturned an earlier decision by IP Australia that said only humans were allowed to be named as an inventor.