Welcome to Francis Academic Press

International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology, 2024, 6(8); doi: 10.25236/IJFS.2024.060811.

AI as a Patent Inventor: A Comparative Analysis of Attitudes in Two Jurisdictions

Author(s)

Zihao Fu

Corresponding Author:
Zihao Fu
Affiliation(s)

Law School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

Abstract

In the context of the digital age, the swift progression of artificial intelligence (AI) has provoked substantial debate regarding its position within the legal framework. This paper critically examines the legal status of AI, with a particular emphasis on its potential recognition as a patent inventor. Through a comparative analysis of judicial decisions in Australia and the United Kingdom, this study argues for the plausibility of AI being acknowledged as an inventor under patent law. The paper further explores the accompanying legal and ethical implications, offering a nuanced discussion of the challenges and considerations that such recognition may entail.

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence, Patent Law, Intellectual Property

Cite This Paper

Zihao Fu. AI as a Patent Inventor: A Comparative Analysis of Attitudes in Two Jurisdictions. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology (2024), Vol. 6, Issue 8: 57-63. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJFS.2024.060811.

References

[1] Thaler v Commissioner of Patents [2021] FCA 879. 

[2] Patents Regulations 1991 (Cth), s 3.2 C (2) (aa).

[3] Patents Act 1990 (Cth), ss 2A, 15.

[4] David Price, Colin Bodkin, and Fady Aoun. Intellectual Property: Cases and Materials[M]. ThomsonReuters, 2017 Chapter 10.

[5] Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd v. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer International Holdings [2007] UKHL 43.

[6] Thaler v Comptroller General of Patents Trade Marks and Designs [2021] EWCA Civ 1374.

[7] Patents Act 1977 (Cth), ss 7, 13.

[8] Shorter Oxford English Dictionary [M]. Oxford University Press, 2002.

[9] Lord Hoffman in Merrell Dow v Norton [1996] RPC 76 at 86.

[10] Kaplan, Andreas and Michael Haenlein. “Siri, Siri, in My Hand: Who’s the Fairest in the Land? On the Interpretations, Illustrations, and Implications of Artificial Intelligence” [J]. Business Horizons, 2019, 62(1): 15.

[11] Turing, AM. “I.—COMPUTING MACHINERY AND INTELLIGENCE”[J]. Mind, 1950, LIX (236): 433.

[12] Naruto v. Slater, No. 16-15469 (9th Cir. 2018).

[13] JMVB Enterprises Pty Ltd v Camoflag Pty Ltd [2006] FCAFC 141.

[14] Blackstone William. Vol.3, Commentaries on the Laws of England[M]. Clarendon Press, 1768, 404-405.

[15] Abbott Ryan. The Reasonable Robot: Artificial Intelligence and the Law[M]. Cambridge University Press, 2020, 18-35.

[16] Abbott Ryan. ‘I Think, Therefore I Invent: Creative Computers and the Future of Patent Law’[J]. Boston College Law Review 2016, 57 (4): 1079.

[17] Abbott Ryan. “Artificial Inventors – The Artificial Inventor Project”. https://artificialinventor.com/dabus/ . Accessed 31 Aug. 2021. 

[18] AttorneyGeneral (Cth) v Adelaide Steamship Co (1913) 18 CLR 30, 32.