Currently, artificial intelligences (AIs) are not able to file for or hold patents on their own inventions and discoveries. While the innovations created by AIs can potentially be patented by the humans/companies that developed the AI system, the AI itself has no legal standing as an inventor. This policy limits incentives and recognition for further development of innovative AI capabilities.
A few court cases have challenged the current policy, arguing that AIs should be able to directly patent their creative works, but so far no jurisdictions allow an “artificial inventor” to be awarded patent protections.
As AI systems become more advanced and capable of original innovations across fields, there are growing calls from AI companies and experts to update patent laws to allow AIs to file patents. That is what this case does.
Advantages:
- General Innovation Allowing AI inventors to patent their work would spur faster technological progress by creating incentives to develop increasingly capable AI problem-solvers. This could accelerate breakthroughs across industries.
- Trade Secrets If AI-created innovations cannot be patented, companies will opt to keep them as trade secrets, hampering open sharing of knowledge.
- China China recently became the first country to allow an AI to be listed as an inventor on patents. The U.S. risks falling behind if it clings to outdated policies.
- Climate/Malaria/De-Agradarization/Disease
AI patent rights could turbocharge solutions to global challenges like climate change, malaria, urbanization issues, and disease treatment/prevention. - Conception Modern AI systems can arguably meet the legal standards of “conception” required for patents through their internal cognitive modeling.
- Global IP Leadership Updating laws to properly handle AI inventors would reinforce U.S. leadership in the crucially important realm of intellectual property rights.
- Emerging Economies Developing economies could reap major benefits by legally empowering their AI developers to patent advances, rather than hitting an artificial bottleneck.
- Stem Cells
There are promising opportunities for patentable AI-generated stem cell research that require clarifying inventorship rules. - More Open Innovation Allowing AI patent rights promotes open innovation and publication of technical advances, rather than trade secrecy.
- General Patents AI inventors becoming patent-holders is a logical extension of the general purpose of incentivizing innovation through patents.
- Solvency Providing exclusive rights over commercializing their creations gives companies a solvent reason to deploy creative AI systems widely.