Munich, 28 January 2020 - The EPO has published its decision
setting out the reasons for its recent refusal of two European patent
applications in which an AI system was designated as the inventor. Filed by an
individual in autumn 2018, the applications EP 18 275 163 and EP 18 275 174 were refused by the EPO following oral proceedings with the
applicant in November 2019, on the grounds that they do not meet the legal
requirement of the European Patent Convention (EPC) that an inventor designated
in the application has to be a human being, and not a machine.
In both applications a machine called
"DABUS", which is described as "a type of connectionist artificial
intelligence", is named as the inventor. The applicant stated that he had
acquired the right to the European patent from the inventor by being its
successor in title, arguing that as the machine's owner, he was assigned any
intellectual property rights created by this machine.
In its decision, the EPO considered that
the interpretation of the legal framework of the European patent system leads
to the conclusion that the inventor designated in a European patent must be a
natural person. The Office further noted that the understanding of the term
inventor as referring to a natural person appears to be an internationally
applicable standard, and that various national courts have issued decisions to
this effect.
Moreover, the designation of an inventor
is mandatory as it bears a series of legal consequences, notably to ensure that
the designated inventor is the legitimate one and that he or she can benefit
from rights linked to this status. To exercise these rights, the inventor must
have a legal personality that AI systems or machines do not enjoy.
Finally, giving a name to a machine is
not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the EPC mentioned above.
The decisions to refuse the two patent
applications can be appealed by the applicant within two months at the EPO's
independent judiciary, the Boards of Appeal.
Further information
Media contacts European Patent Office
Rainer
Osterwalder
Press Spokesperson
EPO
Press Desk
Tel.: +49 89 2399 1820
Mobile:
+49 163 8399527
press@epo.org
About the EPO
With around 6 600
staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service
institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin,
Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of
strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised
patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent
protection in up to 44 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people.
The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent
searching.
