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ARTICLE · 24 FEBRUARY 2024

USPTO Issues New Guidance On Patenting AI-Assisted Inventions

Goodwin Procter LLP
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Patentability hinges on whether a human made a "significant contribution," even when AI assists in the process of invention.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Joel E. Lehrer
Joel E. Lehrer
Christopher McKenna
Christopher McKenna

Patentability hinges on whether a human made a "significant contribution," even when AI assists in the process of invention.

On Monday, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued guidance on the patentability of inventions developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). This guidance, which was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, aims to bring clarity to the patent application process given that AI plays an increasing role in innovation across all aspects of technology.

The guidance was issued in response to the executive order from President Joe Biden to provide clarity on the patentability of AI-assisted inventions.

The key point highlighted in the guidance is that AI-assisted inventions are not automatically unpatentable. Based on the principle that patents are designed to incentivize and reward human ingenuity, it emphasizes that the focus of inventorship analysis should be on the human contributions.(See "Inventing with AI" f

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