The transformation produced with technological evolution and the arrival of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has spread all over the human spheres, acquiring political, economic, ethical, legal and social implications.

Nowadays AI systems have allowed machines to carry out activities previously exclusively attributable to human beings, such as creative production.

Then, an obligatory question arises: Can artificial intelligence register its “inventions”? In response to this question, in January 2020 the patent offices of the European Union and the United Kingdom ruled that two inventions presented by Dabus could not be registered as inventions since that entity was neither a human being nor a group of people, it was an artificial intelligence system.

A similar case happened last week, when the judge of the district court of Alexandria, Virginia (United States), Leonie Brinkema, pointed out that according to North American jurisprudence, an “individual” is required to take an oath that he or she is the inventor. In a patent application, the legal definition of an individual is a natural person (as well in the dictionary).

This decision came after IA researcher Stephan Thaler filed a complaint with the aim of obtaining patents for two inventions in the USA, newly designed by the ‘Dabus’ system.

It is important to mention that Imagination Engines, a firm born in Missouri, United States, is the company responsible for artificial intelligence called Dabus.

For his part, Ryan Abbott, Professor of Law at the University of Surrey (United Kingdom) and leader of the Artificial Inventor Project campaign, has defended the right to patent inventions by AI, filing applications in 17 countries of the world, of which has obtained sentences in his favor in Australia and South Africa.

Finally, Abbott has confirmed its intention to appeal the decision made by the US court, since in its opinion it considers that registering an AI as an inventor is in line with US law and the Patent Act.