USPTO Issues Inventorship Guidance and Examples for AI-Assisted Inventions

On February 13, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued inventorship guidance for inventions assisted by artificial intelligence (AI). The guidance is made pursuant to the “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” from October 30, 2023. The guidance provides clarity for USPTO stakeholders and personnel on how the USPTO will analyze inventorship issues for AI systems. The guidance explains that the inventorship analysis should focus on human contributions and that AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable.  The guidance provides procedures for determining whether a natural person provided a significant contribution to the invention. The guidance discusses the impact these procedures have on other aspects of patent practice.  The USPTO is seeking public comments on the guidance by May 13, 2024.  The Notice for the guidance can be found here.