The United States Patent Office considered artificial intelligence equivalent to other inventors’ tools

While generative AI systems cannot be claimed as inventors under US patent law, the US Patent and Trademark Office has updated its guidelines on how to use these technology-driven tools in the process of creating innovations.

According to Reuters, the United States Patent and Trademark Office in a new guideline treated artificial intelligence as similar to other tools that inventors may use along the way, including laboratory equipment, software and research databases.

Generative AI cannot be the inventor of a thing

“Artificial intelligence systems, including generative artificial intelligence and other computational models, are tools used by human inventors,” John Squires, president of the organization, said in a statement. They may provide services or generate ideas, but they are still tools in the hands of the human inventor; The person who created the claimed invention.

In this announcement, it is pointed out that there is no separate process for evaluating whether an invention with the help of artificial intelligence is eligible for a patent or not. “When multiple natural persons are involved in the creation of an AI-assisted invention, the traditional principles of co-invention apply,” Squires added.

Artificial intelligence cannot be named as an inventor in a patent application or an issued patent, and only natural persons can be considered inventors, according to a ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. There is no change in this position in the new guidelines of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. But the updated rules provide more clarity on whether things like new drugs developed with the help of generative AI systems are patentable.

Therefore, inventors can use generative artificial intelligence in their work process, but generative artificial intelligence will never be recognized as an inventor on its own, and is simply a tool in the hands of inventors. Of course, with the advancements of artificial intelligence in the coming years, this law may also change.