Australia: AI Passes the Inventor Test

AI systems can be named inventors under the Patents Act and Patents Regulations says the Australian Federal Court in Justice Beach's decision in Thaler v. Commissioner of Patents [2021] FCA 879 issued on 30 July 2021. This is the first time that an Australian Court has considered this issue, and an appeal is expected. If upheld on appeal, the recognition of non-human inventors will have significant commercial and legal implications for the use of AI in research & development.

The Australian decision is the first to recognise non-humans as inventors. Dr. Thaler has also applied for counterpart patents in other jurisdictions, including the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and South Africa, with his patent applications having been rejected in all of these jurisdictions but South Africa.

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