USPTO Issues New Guidance On AI-Assisted Inventorship

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued new guidance on Feb. 12, 2024, regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) while developing new inventions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit previously held that an AI system cannot be named as an inventor on a patent, but its opinion left open the question of whether persons can be named as inventors when they use an AI system during the inventive process. President Joe Biden's Executive Order calling for guidance on this issue compelled the USPTO to act. Now, both examiners and stakeholders have some clarity regarding AI-assisted inventions.

New Policy, Old Standard

USPTO Director Kathi Vidal said in issuing the guidance, "[t]he right balance must be struck between awarding patent protection to promote human ingenuity and investment for AI-assisted inventions while not unnecessarily locking up innovation for future developments."