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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued new guidance defining how AI-assisted inventions will be treated in the patent system—and the agency has made one boundary unmistakably clear: AI can generate ideas, but it cannot be an inventor.
According to USPTO Director John Squires, AI systems such as ChatGPT, coding assistants, and generative image models are legally equivalent to research tools—powerful accelerators in the innovation pipeline, but not entities capable of holding inventorship status. The agency likens them to microscopes, databases, or analytical software that support human creativity without replacing it.
Under the updated framework, an invention may rely heavily on AI-driven insights or outputs, but patent rights will belong only to the human who can demonstrate the core act of conception. That means applicants must show they exercised meaningful oversight, made critical decisions, and understood the AI-assisted outputs in a way that reflects true inventive contribution.
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The directive effectively bars AI systems from being listed as inventors on patent applications, reaffirming the human-centric structure of U.S. IP law. It also brings greater clarity for researchers, startups, and tech firms increasingly integrating AI into R&D workflows.
The USPTO says the guidelines are designed to keep pace with rapid advances in machine intelligence while preserving accountability and legal certainty in the patent system.
Per Dr. Elena Hartwell, an AI policy researcher at the Center for Emerging Technology Governance, the decision reinforces a long-standing principle at the heart of patent law: invention requires intent.
She notes that while advanced models can generate sophisticated outputs, they lack the legal and cognitive capacity to understand problems, form inventive intentions, or take responsibility for the results.
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