US appeals court says artificial intelligence can’t be patent inventor

An artificial intelligence system cannot be an inventor under United States patent law, a US appeals court affirmed Friday.

The Patent Act requires an “inventor” to be a natural person, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said, rejecting computer scientist Stephen Thaler’s bid for patents on two inventions he said his DABUS system created.

Thaler said in an email Friday that DABUS, which stands for “Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience,” is “natural and sentient.”

His attorney Ryan Abbott of Brown Neri Smith & Khan said the decision “ignores the purpose of the Patent Act” and has “real negative social consequences.” He said they plan to appeal.