UK’s Highest Court Rules Against Registering AI Systems As Patent ‘Inventors’

UK's Highest Court , Rules Against Registering , AI Systems As Patent 'Inventors'.

On December 20, Britain's Supreme Court ruled that an artificial intelligence system cannot be registered as the inventor of a patent.

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Fox News reports that the decision essentially denies machines equal status as humans.

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According to the U.K.'s highest court, "an inventor must be a person" in order to apply for a patent under the current laws.

The decision ends American technologist Stephen Thaler's grueling legal battle in the U.K. to get his AI registered as the inventor of two patents.

The decision ends American technologist Stephen Thaler's grueling legal battle in the U.K. to get his AI registered as the inventor of two patents.

His AI system, named DABUS, created a food and drink container and a light beacon.

Thaler believes that he is entitled to rights over the AI's inventions.

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Fox News reports that similar applications by Thaler have also been rejected by tribunals in the United States and the European Union.

According to the U.K. Supreme Court, DABUS is , "not a person, let alone a natural person and it did not devise any relevant invention.".

According to legal experts, the case highlights U.K. law's inability to keep up with technology.

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As AI systems continue to advance in sophistication and capability, there is no denying their ability to generate new and non-obvious products and processes with minimal, or perhaps even without any, ongoing human input.

, Nick White, partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, via Fox News.

Change may be on the horizon, but it will most likely come from the policymakers, rather than the judges.

, Nick White, partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, via Fox News