UK Supreme Court rules AI systems cannot be named inventors in patents

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom declared on Wednesday that artificial intelligence (AI) systems cannot be recognised as the inventors of patents, asserting that the current law reserves such recognition exclusively for humans.

The ruling serves as the conclusion to an extended legal battle led by American technologist Stephen Thaler, who sought to designate his AI creation, known as DABUS, as the inventor of two patents. 

Thaler contended that DABUS independently conceived a food and drink container and a light beacon, and he claimed entitlement to the rights over its inventions. 

Similar applications by Thaler were previously rejected by tribunals in the United States and the European Union.

The UK Intellectual Property Office had rejected Thaler's application in 2019, maintaining that DABUS, lacking personhood, could not be officially registered as an inventor. 

Following rulings in favour of the patent office in lower courts, Thaler escalated the appeal to the Supreme Court, where a panel of judges unanimously dismissed the case. The judges stressed that DABUS, being devoid of personhood, particularly that of a natural person, did not devise any pertinent invention. 

Legal experts view this case as highlighting the lag in Britain's legal framework concerning technology and advocate for policy updates, particularly given the remarkable advancements in artificial intelligence, including systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT, capable of swiftly generating poems, songs, and computer code.

Nick White, a partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, commented on the decision, stating, "As AI systems continue to advance in sophistication and capability, there is no denying their ability to generate new and non-obvious products and processes with minimal, or perhaps even without any, ongoing human input." 

White anticipates potential changes in the future but suggests that policymakers, rather than judges, will likely spearhead such developments.

(With PTI Inputs)