The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTOâ€) published new Guidance, effective February 13, 2024, on issues arising from the use of artificial intelligence (“AIâ€) to develop inventions. The Guidance provides clarity for USPTO stakeholders and personnel, including the Central Reexamination Unit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTABâ€), on how to analyze these issues. In, particular, the Guidance:
- Explains that AI-assisted inventions—inventions “created by natural persons using one or more AI systemsâ€â€”are not categorically unpatentable in the U.S.
- Explains the USPTO’s view that patentability depends on the involvement of a natural person in the conception and development of the claimed invention, such that a natural person must, for each claim, at least meet the standards for naming a joint inventor—i.e., a natural person must significantly contribute to the claimed invention.
