Using AI To Innovate

Historically, patent inventorship interpre tation focused on whether legal rights belong to individual inventors, orga nizations or other entities. But as artificial intelligence evolved, the debate shifted to whether inventions generated with AI involve ment qualify for patent protection and who should be recognized as the inventor.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has specific requirements for patent ability and provides guidance on what qualifies as an invention. Patent protection is generally available when an invention is useful, adequately described, novel and non-obvious. Patentability excludes laws of nature, physical phenomena, abstract ideas and mere suggestions.

The USPTO and United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provide guidance on inventorship. Corporations, universities and sovereign entities cannot be named as patent inventors, although they may be listed as applicants or owners. Instead, an inventor must be a natural person who signif