AI cannot patent its own work, US Copyright Office rules

AI cannot be the inventor of a patent, US Copyright Office rules

Image:
AI cannot be the inventor of a patent, US Copyright Office rules

The US Copyright Office (USCO) has rejected an application to grant a copyright for an artwork created by an algorithm.

The patent application was filed in 2018 by Imagination Engines Inc. founder Stephen Thaler, who said his artificial intelligence (AI) programme called 'Creativity Machine' created an image called 'A Recent Entrance to Paradise' without any human assistance.

A three-person board at USCO ruled [pdf] last week that Thaler's AI-created image didn't include an element of "human authorship" which is "a prerequisite to copyright protection".

This is the third time that the Copyright Office has rejected Thaler's request to grant copyright for Creativity Machine's artwork.

Earlier in 2019 and 2020, the Copyright Office also ruled that the artwork lacked the required human authorship necessary to win a copyright. In the most recent request for reconsideration, Thaler's team had argued that the human authorship requirement was unconstitutional and unsupported by case law.

The board noted that while the copyright law doesn't directly establish guidelines for non-humans, multiple courts in the United States have rejected claims that divine beings or animals can take advantage of copyright protections.

Citing a previous judgement, the board affirmed that copyright law only protects "the fruits of intellectual labour" that "are founded in the creative powers of the [human] mind".

"The courts have been consistent in finding that non-human expression is ineligible for copyright protection," it noted.

Recently, a court ruled that a monkey cannot sue for copyright violation.

The USCO board said that it won't register works produced by a mechanical process that lacks human interaction or creative input.

Ryan Abbott, a Los Angeles-based attorney for Stephen Thaler, said that the case will now proceed to federal court as Thaler wants to appeal the USCO ruling.

Thaler has previously attempted to have another AI he invented, DABUS, recognised as an inventor on two patent applications.

Thaler's team filed patent applications in 17 jurisdictions worldwide listing DABUS as the inventor for Fractal Container - a beverage container based on fractal geometry - and Neural Flame - a light beacon that flashes in a way that attracts more attention.

The Copyright Office's ruling is the latest in a series of judgements that have tested AI's legal rights around the world.

In 2020, the US Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) rejected Thaler's applications on the grounds that only "natural persons" can be listed as an inventor on the patent paperwork.

Last year, a US federal court also ruled that AI systems cannot be listed as an inventor on patents, because the US Patent Act requires a human to be named.

The patent office in South Africa, however, issued a patent, listing DABUS as the inventor.

A federal judge in Australia also ruled that a nonhuman could be named as the inventor on a patent application. The ruling overturned an earlier decision by IP Australia that said only humans were allowed to be named as an inventor.