Ai as a Patent Inventor—an Update from South Africa and Australia

• Jurisdiction: European Union,United States,Federal
• Publication year: 2022
• Citation: Vol. 5 No. 1

Anna Yuan, Georgia Wright, and Alistair Maughan ^*

Although the European, U.S., and UK Patent Offices have denied patent applications on the grounds that an AI system cannot be listed as an inventor, not every country seems to be following that approach and some may be set to buck the trend. The authors of this article provide an update on South Africa and Australia patent matters.

Last year, the first European Patent Office ("EPO") ruled on its approach to patent applications that designate artificial intelligence ("AI") systems as inventors. Both the UK Intellectual Property Office ("UKIPO") and the EPO reasoned that AI systems cannot be inventors. However, South Africa and Australia did not follow suit this year.

What Did DABUS "Invent"?

The "Artificial Inventor Project," an international group of patent attorneys, filed patent applications directed to inventions that were supposedly "invented" by DABUS, an AI system developed by Dr. Stephen Thaler. The applications are directed to a light emitting device that could be used as an emergency signal beacon and a food container device.

Success in South Africa Could Be Premature

A patent application was granted in...