Crossing Frontiers: A Comparative Exploration of AI Inventorship and Ownership in Patent Law

Abstract

This article examines the implications of attributing inventorship to Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in patent law. It aims at comprehending the challenges in assigning patent rights to AI due to its increasing role in inventive processes. With AI's rising usage across sectors, the need to research on complex issue of conferring personhood upon non-human entities has become evident. To achieve this goal, the article employs a comprehensive review of patents Acts, policy documents and cases such as Thaler v. Comptroller General of Patents, Trade Marks and Designs [2020] EWHC 2412 (Pat). The review is coupled with the analysis of AI inventorship across various jurisdictions such as the United States of America, European Union and South Africa. This is done to understand the criteria for determining inventorship and the contemporary interpretations of the concept of “intelligence." The article finds that current patent laws encounter difficulties in adequately protecting AI-generated inventions due to limitations in recognizing AI as inventors. This highlights the need for a sui generis system tailored to address the unique challenges posed by AI inventorship within patent law. Taken together, the article underscores the need to adapt legal frameworks to accommodate AI's evolving role, ensuring fair treatment and protection of AI-generated inventions, while advocating for further research to navigate the intersection of AI and patent law effectively.