Thaler, who is American, has also faced rejection in the United States. His applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office were denied, and a lawsuit against the US Copyright Office for not awarding him the copyright for a piece of art created by DABUS was unsuccessful. However, Thaler has managed to secure patents in countries such as Australia and South Africa.
Key takeaways:
- The UK Supreme Court has rejected Dr. Stephen Thaler's appeal to approve patents for two inventions created by his AI "creativity machine" DABUS, citing that "an inventor must be a natural person."
- Thaler's first attempt to register the patents was in 2018, but the UK's Intellectual Property Office withdrew his application when he refused to list a human being as the inventor.
- In the US, Thaler's applications were also rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and his argument that the requirement for human authorship is unconstitutional was declined by the US Supreme Court.
- Despite rejections in the UK and US, Thaler has managed to secure patents for his AI's inventions in countries such as Australia and South Africa.