AI cannot patent inventions, UK Supreme Court confirms; BBC, December 20, 2023

BBC ; AI cannot patent inventions, UK Supreme Court confirms

"The UK Supreme Court has upheld earlier decisions in rejecting a bid to allow an artificial intelligence to be named as an inventor in a patent application.

Technologist Dr Stephen Thaler had sought to have his AI, called Dabus, recognised as the inventor of a food container and a flashing light beacon."

This Guy is Suing the Patent Office for Deciding an AI Can't Invent Things; Vice, August 24, 2020

Todd Feathers, Vice; This Guy is Suing the Patent Office for Deciding an AI Can't Invent Things

The USPTO rejected two patents applications written by a "creativity engine" named DABUS. Now a lawsuit raises fundamental questions about what it means to be creative

"A computer scientist who created an artificial intelligence system capable of generating original inventions is suing the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) over its decision earlier this year to reject two patent applications which list the algorithmic system, known as DABUS, as the inventor.

The lawsuit is the latest step in an effort by Stephen Thaler and an international group of lawyers and academics to win inventorship rights for non-human AI systems, a prospect that raises fundamental questions about what it means to be creative and also carries potentially paradigm-shifting implications for certain industries."

Protecting intellectual property still matters in a pandemic; Washington Examiner, April 21, 2020

Kevin Mooney, Washington Examiner; Protecting intellectual property still matters in a pandemic

"With businesses now under pressure as a result of COVID-19, they can hardly afford to absorb the costs associated with patent allegations that cannot be substantiated under close scrutiny. 

That’s why it’s important to preserve a trial-like procedure organized within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that makes it possible to review the legitimacy of patents through a streamlined, cost-effective process that avoids expensive litigation. 

Unfortunately, some lawmakers (such as Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware) are pushing legislation that would gut and dilute what is known as the inter partes review process, which provides important safeguards against patents that should not have been issued. 

A better solution would be for policymakers to provide those businesses harmed by the coronavirus with greater assurances and predictability. They can do this by defending and strengthening the inter partes review process as a tool to eliminate low-quality, wrongly granted patents that harm the economy, stifle innovation, and cost jobs. 

There’s no disputing the fact that patent examiners are overburdened. Government records show that in 2018, there were 640,000 patent applications filed, but fewer than 8,200 patent examiners available to do a thorough review. On average, patent examiners only have about 19 hours to evaluate a patent application. Under these time constraints, a handful of ill-conceived applications are approved."

In a first, China knocks U.S. from top spot in global patent race; Reuters, April 7, 2020

Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters; In a first, China knocks U.S. from top spot in global patent race

"China was the biggest source of applications for international patents in the world last year, pushing the United States out of the top spot it has held since the global system was set up more than 40 years ago, the U.N. patent agency said on Tuesday.

The World Intellectual Property Organization, which oversees a system for countries to share recognition of patents, said 58,990 applications were filed from China last year, beating out the United States which filed 57,840.

China’s figure was a 200-fold increase in just 20 years, it said. The United States had filed the most applications in the world every year since the Patent Cooperation Treaty system was set up in 1978. 

More than half of patent applications - 52.4 % - now come from Asia, with Japan ranking third, followed by Germany and South Korea."

Why AI systems should be recognized as inventors; TNW, February 17, 2020

Thomas Macaulay, TNW; Why AI systems should be recognized as inventors

"Existing intellectual property laws don’t allow AI systems to be recognized as inventors, which threatens the integrity of the patent system and the potential to develop life-changing innovations.

Current legislation only allows humans to be recognized as inventors, which could make AI-generated innovations unpatentable. This would deprive the owners of the AI of the legal protections they need for the inventions that their systems create.

The Artificial Inventor Project team has been testing the limitations of these rules by filing patent applications that designate a machine as the inventor— the first time that an AI’s role as an inventor had ever been disclosed in a patent application."

Pitt researcher’s work featured by U.S. Patent & Trademark Office; Trib Live, November 12, 2019

Patrick Varine, Trib Live; Pitt researcher’s work featured by U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

"Rory Cooper, who was recognized earlier this year by the office with a trading card created to honor U.S. inventors, holds more than two dozen patents related to mobility-improvement research. Cooper is the director at Pitt’s Human Energy Research Laboratories, a U.S. Army veteran and also serves as director of the Paralyzed Veterans of America Research Foundation...

Cooper was recognized in the patent office’s SUCCESS report, an update on progress achieved through the 2018 Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success (SUCCESS) Act. The act aims to promote patent applications by women, minorities, veterans, the disabled and other underrepresented classes.

“Without diversity of thought, potentially life changing work for wheel chair users and others with disabilities might not be possible,” Cooper said. “We have a world-class team at our labs that is committed to helping people with disabilities and older adults live full lives and contribute to society as much as they can and they like.”"

China keeps global crown in patent applications; Nikkei Asian Review, December 4, 2018

Rintaro Hosokawa, Nikkei Asian Review; China keeps global crown in patent applications

"China was responsible for around 40% of the 3.17 million patent applications submitted worldwide last year, putting the country at the top for the seventh straight year and driving Asia's growing presence in the global intellectual property arena.

The World Intellectual Property Organization said Monday China's 1.38 million applications mark a new record, though the group did not give a year-on-year percentage increase due to changes in the way China's patent office counted filings.

China's patent applications in 2017 mainly concerned electronic devices, computer technology and digital data transmission. Chinese tech companies, such as telecommunications equipment makers Huawei Technologies and ZTE, significantly boosted their application counts.

At 607,000, patent applications from the U.S. were less than half of China's total. That places America in second place, followed by Japan's 318,000 applications in third and South Korea's 200,000 in the No. 4 spot."

Face-PALM: US Patent and Trademark Office database down for 5 days and counting; The Register, August 20, 2018

Richard Speed, The Register; Face-PALM: US Patent and Trademark Office database down for 5 days and counting

"The Patent Application Locating and Monitoring (PALM) database forms the backbone of a distressingly large number of US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) systems and, during some maintenance at 04:30 ET on 15 August, "experienced an issue".

More than five days on, PALM is still down. As such, this is more akin to the Titanic experiencing an iceberg "issue" rather than a straightforward turn it off and on again.

Systems impacted include the USPTO's Electronic Filing System (EFS), the Public and Private Patent Application Retrieval (PAIR) systems and the Electronic Patent Assignment (ePAS) among others.

36 hours after the outage began, the USPTO kicked off its contingency systems so users could at least still file patents (in theory), if not access saved submissions. Users were not convinced."

Want to patent your invention? Here's what you need to know.; Marketplace, February 2, 2018

[Podcast and Article] Peter Balonon-Rosen and Lizzie O'Leary, Marketplace; Want to patent your invention? Here's what you need to know.

[Kip Currier: Informative brief podcast, spotlighting a patent librarian's work at New York Public Library and the costs and time involved with submitting a patent application.]

"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is getting more patent applications than ever before — six times as many as it did in 1980. But does that mean that America is more creative and innovative than ever before? Well, not necessarily. Here's what you need to know..."

Why an Indian hotel startup is taking the difficult route of filing patents; Quartz, March 28, 2018

Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz; Why an Indian hotel startup is taking the difficult route of filing patents

"India and patents

High costs, lengthy processing periods, and a general lack of awareness are huge deterrents for startups eyeing patents in India. Gaps in the system, like a shortage of examiners, have caused hundreds of thousands of applications to pile up.

“Filing patents is common practice in other parts of the world but the importance of filing patents has only of late become apparent to startups in India,” said Anindya Ghose, the Heinz Riehl professor of business at New York University. Shorter processing times for intellectual property (IP) rights applications, an 80% rebate on patent fees for startups, and more transparency around the system are helping.

However, the country is still ranked an unimpressive 44th out of 50 in a score of IP robustness compiled by the US Chamber of Commerce (pdf) this year. “India’s score continues to suggest that additional, meaningful reforms are needed to complement the Policy,” the federal entity said."

Patents harder to obtain now, attorney [sic] say; Tulsa Business & Legal News, March 17, 2017

Ralph Schaefer, Tulsa Business & Legal News; 

Patents harder to obtain now, attorney [sic] say

"Back in 1899, Charles H. Duell, then-commissioner of the U.S. patent office, said “everything that can be invented has been invented” and the office should be closed.

Duell should have fast-forwarded 118 years to look at what has happened as technology has exploded and changed the face of the world. He would get a different perspective from four GableGotwals lawyers who are facing challenges the 19th century commissioner could not have imagined.

Todd A. Nelson, Scott R. Zingerman, James F. Lea III and David G. Woodral are registered patent attorneys."

UN agency: China has explosive growth in patent applications; Associated Press via ABC News, March 15, 2017

Associated Press via ABC News; 

UN agency: China has explosive growth in patent applications

"The U.N.'s intellectual property agency says China is showing "quite extraordinary" growth in international patent applications, putting Chinese applicants on track to outpace their U.S. counterparts within two to three years.

Francis Gurry, director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, says China posted nearly 45-percent growth in such patent applications last year, saying "the country continues its journey from 'Made in China' to 'Created in China.'""

Patent Data – The Modern Investor’s Crystal Ball; Intellectual Property Watch, March 6, 2017

Sirena Rubinoff, Intellectual Property Watch; 

Patent Data – The Modern Investor’s Crystal Ball

"What if there was a crystal ball that could tell you where and when to invest your money? It sounds like science fiction, but engineers at MIT have actually developed a formula that can predict future events in tech development. The formula is based on a combination of big data from patent applications and smart analytics which, when put together, can estimate how fast a technology is advancing.

Why patent applications?

If you want to know where technology is headed, a great place to look is in a patent application database like the USPTO. One of the qualifications for getting a patent granted is “novelty,” which means new, similar innovations won’t appear anywhere else. Once enough data is collected from the database, it can be used to map out and predict unique advancements in specific areas of technology."

China Smartphone Makers Snap Up Patents in Fight for Market Dominance; Wall Street Journal, 6/20/16

Juro Osawa, Wall Street Journal; China Smartphone Makers Snap Up Patents in Fight for Market Dominance:

"China’s smartphone makers increasingly are turning to patents as ammunition as they try to reel in global leaders Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co."