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US Patent Office: “AI can’t invent”

April 29, 2020

An Artificial Intelligence (AI) system has been refused the right to two patents in the US, after a ruling only “natural persons” could be inventors. The US Patent and Trademark Office has rejected two patents where the AI system Dabus was listed as the inventor.

US patent law had previously only specified eligible inventors had to be “individuals”. The AI researcher Stephen Thaler had argued that because he had not helped it with the inventions, it would be inaccurate to list himself as the inventor.

It follows a similar ruling from the UK Intellectual Property Office.

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