Only natural persons can currently be inventors under patent law. As AI technologies advance, the question arises whether AI developers should also be considered inventors when their tools contribute to the creation of new inventions. In the case of a researcher utilizing an AI model for pharmaceutical discovery, the developer of that model could potentially have claims to joint inventorship. The uncertainty surrounding this issue poses risks of misidentification and subsequent invalidation of patents due to non-human inventors being listed, highlighting the need for clarity regarding rights in AI-assisted innovation.
The gray area lies in human inventors who are one step behind the scenes - the AI's creators. The patent system must provide clarity: are these people inventors, or not, and based on what standard?
Under current law, only natural persons can be inventors on a patent. But as AI systems become more sophisticated and domain-specific, questions emerge about whether the creators of such AI might contribute to the conception of inventions generated with their tools.
Absent clarification, we may soon see AI platform providers unexpectedly claiming inventorship (and ownership) stakes in others' inventions, solely because of how their AI systems shaped the inventive output.
Joint inventors must each significantly contribute to the conception of at least one claim in the patent application, raising challenges in determining rights related to AI-generated inventions.
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