Scientists claim AI as the author of a new patent and are trying to change patent law

Scientists and lawyers from the UK are trying to prevail in a dispute with patent officials regarding the registration of one invention. This team claimed artificial intelligence as the author of the invention. The patent application in question is filed in three different countries at once .



Dabus AI, the name given to AI, is claimed as the author of the invention in the UK, EU and USA. According to the team that initiated the entire process, the process of registering patents must be changed so that not only people can be claimed as authors. Actually, scientists just want to show that the legislation of most countries is not ready for the changes that are already taking place.



The invention itself, or rather, two inventions, are a container for storing food with a fractal structure and a lamp that visualizes the brain. According to the law, the rights to these inventions should belong to the person-developer of the AI ​​system itself.



But it is impossible to display the name of the algorithm as at least one of the authors of the application. “The modern patent system denies the possibility of registering an application if the creator of the invention is not a person. But in the future, AI will create much more things than it does now, and in this case, the intellectual property protection system will simply fail, ”said Universities professor at Surrey Ryan Abbott.



There is another point of view on this situation - already from patenting specialists. In their opinion, AI cannot be indicated as the author of an invention, since it is a tool. For example, if someone creates something new using a 3D printer, then what does the printer have to do with it? The author of the invention is still a person.



AI does not have the main thing - the ability to think and invent as a person. Perhaps a strong form of AI, which may appear in the distant future, will begin to create something new, but this point is still far away.



Well, the rule itself, according to which the author should indicate a person, not a tool or company, is designed to withstand the pressure of corporations. If patents were registered with companies, then antitrust committees would have a hard time.



Commenting on the current situation, one of the AI ​​experts said that “the current level of technology development suggests that in the near foreseeable future, AI will still remain a tool. But any attempt to change patent law will lead to the fact that changes will appear in many other areas, including laws for the protection of information, civil law, etc. Of course, this whole situation is a great opportunity to debate on whether AI could ever become a creator and inventor. ”



Experts conclude that at the moment you can only begin a discussion of the problem. It is unlikely that the scientists discussed above can achieve anything.