A Tokyo court on Thursday ruled against granting patents to inventions generated by artificial intelligence in a dispute over whether AI — not human beings — can be recognized as an inventor.
The ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit launched by Ryan Abbott, a law and health science professor at the University of Surrey in England.
The plaintiff filed for a patent in 2021 for a device generated by AI, listing the inventor's name as "DABUS, an artificial intelligence that autonomously invented this invention." Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience (DABUS) is an AI system developed by Stephen Thaler, a computer scientist and president of Imagination Engines, an AI technology company.
Japan's Patent Office rejected the application, saying inventors are limited to humans under domestic law.
The plaintiff, who is reportedly residing in the United States, then filed a lawsuit last year seeking to overturn the decision.
The Tokyo District Court, however, dismissed his claim on Thursday, saying patents are only applicable to inventions made by humans.
Presiding Judge Motoyuki Nakashima pointed out that current laws — specifically the Intellectual Property Act — defined inventions as “products of human activity” which means an AI's invention cannot be patented.
“Many countries are cautious of interpreting the phrase ‘inventor’ in the patent laws to immediately include AI,” Nakashima said.
But Nakashima also acknowledged that current laws on patents did not anticipate AI inventions, and said that parliament should deliberate on the need for such legislation based on societal changes brought about by AI.
Patent rights for DABUS was filed for two inventions — a food container and a beacon for search and rescue operations.
South Africa is the only country to have granted a patent for DABUS’ inventions. The United Kingdom and Europe are in the process of appeals while the United States has denied the patent application.
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