While generic AI systems cannot be considered inventors under US patent laws, the US Patent and Trademark Office has updated its guidelines on how they can be used in the process of creating innovations. The agency’s director, John Squires, said in a notice received reuters The USPTO considers GenAI to be “analogous” to other tools that inventors may use in their process, including laboratory equipment, software, and research databases.
“AI systems, including generative AI and other computational models, are tools used by human investigators,” Squire wrote. “They may provide services and generate ideas, but they remain tools used by the human inventor who conceived the claimed invention.”
notice [PDF]Which is to be published in the Federal Register on November 28, notes that there is no separate process for evaluating whether an AI-assisted invention is eligible for a patent. “When multiple natural persons join together to create an invention with AI assistance, traditional joint invention principles apply,” Squires said.
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that “AI cannot be named as an inventor on a patent application (or issued patent) and only natural persons can be inventors.” There is no change in that stance under the latest USPTO guidelines. But the updated rules provide more clarity on whether things like new drugs developed with the help of GenAI systems can be patented.
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