UK Supreme Court Decides AI Cannot Be Designated As Inventor In Groundbreaking Patent Ruling

The UK Supreme Court found in a precedent-setting ruling that artificial intelligence (AI) is not eligible to be listed as an "inventor" in patent applications.?

The historic decision has far-reaching effects on creativity and AI-related inventions in the future and establishes an important precedent in the area of technology and intellectual property law.?

What Has Happened?

Credit: AP

The British Supreme Court decided on Wednesday that an?artificial intelligence system cannot be listed as a patent inventor, depriving robots of the same rights as people.

The highest court in the United Kingdom determined that, to apply for a patent under the existing legislation, "an inventor must be a person."

The ruling marked the end of American technologist Stephen Thaler's protracted legal dispute with the United Kingdom to have his artificial intelligence system, known as DABUS, recognised as the creator of two patents.

According to Thaler, DABUS independently invented a food and drink container as well as a light beacon.?

He is entitled to patent rights over these inventions. Tribunals in the U.S. and the E.U. have turned down Thaler's claims.

Credit: Reuters

In 2019, the U.K. Intellectual Property Office denied Thaler's application, stating that DABUS is not a person and hence cannot be legally registered as the inventor.?

Thaler moved his appeal to the Supreme Court, where a group of justices unanimously dismissed the case after lower courts had sided with the patent office.

DABUS is "not a person, let alone a natural person, and it did not devise any relevant invention," according to the justices.

Legal Scholars Highlight the Need for Updated Policies as a Landmark Case Reveals Gaps in UK Laws Regarding AI, Particularly in Light of Remarkable Technological Advances, Such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Proficient in Swiftly Generating Computer Code, Songs, and Poems.??

Credit: Canva

According to Nick White, a partner at the legal firm Charles Russell Speechlys, "As AI systems continue to advance in sophistication and capability, there is no denying their ability to generate new and non-obvious products and processes with minimal, or perhaps even without any, ongoing human input."

He stated, "Change may be coming, but it will probably come from the policymakers, not the judges."

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