To incentivize, protect, and encourage innovation enabled by the use of artificial intelligence (AI), and to provide clarity to the public and USPTO staff regarding the patentability of AI-assisted inventions, the USPTO has published guidance in the Federal Register that provides the USPTO’s obligations under the Executive Order on the Development and Use of Safe, Reliable, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance the use of AI in innovation that benefits humanity.
The guidance, which takes effect on February 13, 2024, clarifies that AI-assisted inventions are not absolutely unpatentable. It also guides stakeholders or USPTO examiners on how to determine whether innovations contributed by AI are eligible for patent applications and patent authorization. The guidance is based on the existing inventor framework to determine how humans can name the correct inventor in patents or patent applications for inventions created with the help of one or more AI systems. The USPTO believes that inventions to which humans have made significant contributions can seek patent protection.
The USPTO provides examples of how to apply the above situations on its AI-related webpage: Federal Register :: Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions
