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ARTICLE · 24 FEBRUARY 2024

USPTO Issues Guidance For AI-assisted Inventions

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On February 12, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced guidance and a request for comments regarding evaluating inventorship for artificial intelligence (AI) assisted inventions.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Haixia Lin
Haixia Lin
Gilbert T. Smolenski
Gilbert T. Smolenski
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On February 12, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced guidance and a request for comments regarding evaluating inventorship for artificial intelligence (AI) assisted inventions (the "AI Guidance").1The AI Guidance, effective as of February 13, 2024, emphasizes that AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable and the inventorship analysis "should focus on human contributions, as patents function to incentivize and reward human ingenuity."2

Key Takeaways

The key takeaways from the AI Guidance are as follows, with further details below.

1. An AI system cannot be an inventor.

2. Use of AI systems does not negate human inventorship.

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