patent Archives

US court upholds ruling that AIs can’t be patent holders

The US Court of Appeals has upheld previous rulings that AIs cannot hold patents for inventions.

AIs are increasingly being used to make new discoveries but, under most patent laws, a human must be listed as the patent holder for inventions.

Dr Stephen Thaler created a device called DABUS that consists of neural networks and has been used to invent an emergency warning light, a food container that improves grip and heat transfer, and more.

Thaler believes that...

21 October 2022 | Artificial Intelligence

Clearview AI is close to obtaining a patent despite regulatory crackdown

Clearview AI is reportedly just a bank transfer away from receiving a US patent for its controversial facial recognition technology.

Politico reports that Clearview AI has been sent a “notice of allowance” by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The notice means that it will be granted the patent once it pays the administration fees.

Clearview AI offers one of the most powerful facial recognition systems in the world. In the wake of the US Capitol raid, Clearview AI...

6 December 2021 | Artificial Intelligence

British court disagrees with Australia, rules that AIs cannot be patent inventors

The UK and Australia may have made a historic pact last week, but one thing they can’t agree on is whether AIs can be patent inventors.

AIs are increasingly being used to come up with new ideas and there’s an argument they should therefore be listed as the inventor by patent agencies. However, opponents say that patents are a statutory right and can only be granted to a person.

US-based Dr Stephen Thaler, the founder of Imagination Engines, has been leading the fight...

22 September 2021 | Artificial Intelligence

Aussie court rules AIs can be credited as inventors under patent law

A federal court in Australia has ruled that AI systems can be credited as inventors under patent law in a case that could set a global precedent.

Ryan Abbott, a professor at University of Surrey, has launched over a dozen patent applications around the world – including in the UK, US, New Zealand, and Australia – on behalf of US-based Dr Stephen Thaler.

The twist here is that it’s not Thaler which Abbott is attempting to credit as an inventor, but rather his AI...

3 August 2021 | Legislation & Government

Sony patents an AI to assist in games like a good player two

Many of us are guilty of giving up on a game because of a long grind or seemingly insurmountable challenge, but Sony’s latest patent shows the company wants to change that.

Some masochists enjoy the pain of being repeatedly beaten in games like Dark Souls – it’s understandable, overcoming those challenges is a great feeling – but most of us have a breaking point where the power button gets hit and the game just ends up collecting dust on a shelf.

A patent spotted...

23 April 2021 | Applications

US Patent Office: AIs cannot be credited as inventors

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has ruled that an AI cannot be legally credited as an inventor.

AI will assist us mere humans in coming up with new innovations in the years to come. However, the USPTO will not let them take the credit.

The USPTO has rejected two early filings of inventions credited to an AI system called DABUS which was created by Stephen Thaler.

DABUS invented two devices; a shape-shifting food container, and a new type of emergency...

30 April 2020 | Artificial Intelligence

Amazon patent envisions Alexa listening to everything 24/7

A patent filed by Amazon envisions a future where Alexa listens to users 24/7 without the need for a wakeword.

Current digital assistants listen for a wakeword such as “Ok, Google” or “Alexa,” before recording speech for processing. Especially for companies such as Google and Amazon which thrive on knowing everything about users, this helps to quell privacy concerns.

There are some drawbacks from this approach, mainly context. Future AI assistants will be able to...