On April 22, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruled that an artificial intelligence (AI) system cannot be credited as an inventor on a U.S. patent application, and that only “natural persons” are qualified for inventorship status.
The decision comes in light of a patent application for a beacon light emissions technology control system, wherein the AI system’s creator Stephen Thaler designated himself as the assignee and the AI system, DABUS, as the inventor.
