Government Says AI Can't Be an Inventor: Humans Only Rule Stands
Published Date: 11/28/2025
Notice
Summary
The USPTO updated its rules on who counts as an inventor when AI helps create inventions. They made it clear that only real people—not AI—can be inventors, and the same rules apply whether AI is involved or not. This change affects inventors and patent applicants starting now, so everyone should follow the usual inventorship rules to avoid delays or extra costs.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Only Natural Persons Are Inventors
The USPTO says only natural persons — not AI systems — may be named as inventors on patent applications or issued patents. The office directs examiners to reject any application that lists an AI system or other non-natural person as an inventor or joint inventor under 35 U.S.C. 101 and 115.
Priority Claims Must Name Humans
If you claim benefit or priority to a prior U.S. or foreign application under 35 U.S.C. 119, 120, 121, 365, or 386, the U.S. application must name the same natural person(s) or have at least one natural person inventor in common. A priority claim to a foreign application that names an AI tool as the sole inventor will not be accepted by the USPTO.
Same Inventorship Standard Applies
The USPTO says the usual legal standard for inventorship applies to inventions made with AI assistance; there is no separate standard for AI-assisted inventions. The guidance cites 35 U.S.C. 115(b)(2) and centers inventorship on the human inventor's "conception" as defined by Federal Circuit case law.
Guidance Also Covers Design and Plant Patents
The USPTO says this inventorship guidance applies to utility, design, and plant patent applications and patents. For plant patents, the inventor must have contributed to creating the plant and asexually reproduced it, including when AI was used in development.
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