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ARTICLE · 13 FEBRUARY 2020

EPO Publishes Grounds for Refusing AI-Invented Patent Applications

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On 28 January 2020, the European Patent Office (EPO) published its reasons for two recent decisions refusing two European patent applications in which a machine named DABUS

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On 28 January 2020, the European Patent Office (EPO) published its reasons for two recent decisions refusing two European patent applications in which a machine named DABUS—"a type of connectionist artificial intelligence"—was designated as the inventor. The applicant had argued that the machine should be recognized as the inventor and that he, as the owner of the machine, was an assignee of any IP rights created by his machine.

The EPO did not agree with the applicant's position and held that an application designating a machine as the inventor did not meet the formal requirements under Art. 81 and Rule 19(1) of the European Patent Convention (EPC). The EPC did not provide for "non-persons, i.e. neither natural nor legal persons" in any role in patent grant proceedings.

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