The decision follows similar rulings in the U.S., Europe, and Australia, reinforcing the requirement for inventors to be a natural person. However, the judgment does not prevent a person using an AI to devise an invention from applying for a patent, provided that person is identified as the inventor. The UK government has indicated it will keep this area of law under review.
Key takeaways:
- A U.S. computer scientist, Stephen Thaler, lost his bid to register patents for inventions created by his artificial intelligence system, DABUS, in a landmark case in Britain.
- The UK's Supreme Court unanimously rejected Thaler's appeal, stating that under UK patent law, an inventor must be a natural person.
- Thaler's lawyers stated that the ruling shows that UK patent law is currently unsuitable for protecting inventions generated autonomously by AI machines.
- The ruling follows similar decisions by courts in Europe, Australia, and the U.S., providing certainty that inventors must be a natural person, but does not preclude a person using an AI to devise an invention.