Thaler v. Vidal (DABUS)

AI and inventorship

Can AI be an inventor?

Human inventors only

Only a natural person can be an inventor under the US Patent Act

Holding

Stephen Thaler named the AI system DABUS as sole inventor. The Federal Circuit held that an "individual" in the Patent Act means a human being, so an AI cannot be an inventor, and declined to reach broader questions because the statutory text was unambiguous.

The binding US answer on AI inventorship; the Supreme Court later declined review.

Principles it bears on

• SupportsOnly a natural person can be named as an inventor.

Sources