Written by Haim Ravia and Dotan Hammer
The Commissioner of Patents in Israel denied two patent applications submitted by Dr. Steven Thaler. The Commissioner found that recognizing AI as a patent inventor, or registration of a patent for an invention created without any human involvement, is a question of policy best decided by the legislature. Until the legislature enacts different rules, only a human being may be named the inventor of a patent.
Dr. Thaler’s application insists that he is not the inventor. According to Dr. Thaler’s application, the inventive process was done by DABUS, an AI tool, without any human involvement. Dr. Thaler has submitted patent applications around the globe. To date, patent offices and courts in the United States, United Kingdom, the European Union, and Australia have denied his applications, owing to the commonly accepted rule that the inventor must be a human being.
Click here to read the decision of the Israeli Commissioner of Patents on Dr. Thaler’s patent applications (in Hebrew).
