USPTO Releases Guidance on AI-Assisted Inventorship
Summary
On February 12, 2024, the US Patent and Trademark Office published its Inventorship Guidance for AI-assisted Inventions, which was mandated by the AI EO. The guidance is policy, rather than rulemaking, and interprets how existing law applies. The guidance begins with the premise that “AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable for improper inventorship” and largely focuses on the role of AI in an invention. The guidance states that inventions require “significant contribution” from a human and declines to set a bright line rule for this threshold, requiring a case-by-case analysis. Further, the USPTO indicates that AI should not be named as an inventor, but its use does not necessarily need to be disclosed—although disclosure may be required if there is ambiguity as to the human’s contribution. Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, released a companion statement on the USPTO Director's Blog. The USPTO is hosting a webinar covering the guidance on March 5 and is accepting public comments on the guidance through May 13, 2024.
