Taiwan’s IPC Court rules on AI not being inventor cause concerns
“Can AI be an inventor?” is a question that has been unanswered for many years, decades, or even centuries. For the most part, AI has always been deemed unfit to become the inventor of anything in most countries. However, a recent Taiwan’s IPC Court rules on AI not being inventor has caused major concerns to AI supporter across the world.
The situation in Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court (IPC Court) is extremely worrisome for many parties as the answer of the judges was a loud and clear ‘no’ rather than a hesitant ‘not yet’ (Thaler v Taiwan IP Office (TIPO), 110 Xing Zhuan Su 3, Taiwan’s IPC Court (August 2021)).
Some might ask why is this a big deal in Taiwan. This is because the issue of an AI inventorship has never been directly brought to the table in Taiwan before this case. Accordingly, no one has received a definitive answer about this matter until now.
Delivered on August 19, 2021, this decision upheld the Taiwan IP Office’s ruling that rejected a Taiwan application filed by Stephen Thaler based on European patent 18275174.3 for “Devices and Methods for Attracting Enhanced Attention.” In the application, DABUS was named the sole inventor.
DABUS is an “artificial neural system”. Basically, it is a computer system that’s been programmed to invent on its own. From the technical perspective, DABUS consists of disconnected neutral nets that continuously generate “thought processes” and “memories” which over time independently generate new and inventive outputs.
In 2019, 2 patent applications that have DABUS as the inventor was filed in more than 10 countries and the European Union. Although the applications list DABUS as the inventor, Dr. Thaler is still the owner of the patent. This implies that these countries and their IP office don’t want to advocate for property rights for AI.
Different from the ruling of Australia stating that AI can be an inventor, the ruling of Taiwan’s IPC Court is a decisive “No” to the application.
Taiwan’s IPC Court ruling
First of all, it should be noted that in terms regarding the matter of AI-inventor, Taiwan’s Patent Law does not explicitly preclude a non-human inventor, although the Chinese term for the word inventor literally means “an invent-person”, rather than just “inventor” in other jurisdictions.
However, the IPC Court of Taiwan has stated and cited some of the most important bylaws to affirm this rule.
- The Patent Examination Guidelines: This guideline has regulated that an inventor must be a human or a natural person in the legal term.
- The Enforcement Rules of the Patent Law: This guideline has stated that the disclosure of an inventor’s name and citizenship/nationality in a patent application is required; this formality requirement was found by the court to be aiming to protect human inventors’ personality rights.
In addition to the law, the IPC Court has stated that one of the key reasons behind its rejection of the application is that the patent system is designed for the encouragement and protection of the fruits of human’s mental activities.
Accordingly, the court has given its final decision on the matter: An inventor can only refer to a human who completes an invention through ‘(human) mental creation’. AI is not a human and not even a juridical person. It is merely a ‘thing’ and a thing can only be an object rather than a holder of rights.
It should be noted that the IPC Court ruling doesn’t include the review of DABUS’s win in Australia as stated above as the court hearings for this case ended on July 29, 2021, and the Australian’s ruling was given on July 30, 2021. Nonetheless, this might not create a difference as the reasoning of the Australian Court might not fit into the Taiwanese context.
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– You could visit here to see Procedure of Taiwan Trademark Registration.
– You could visit here to check the required documents for filing trademark in Taiwan.
– You could check trademark fee in Taiwan here.
– You could also read 04 Often Questions About Filing Trademark In Taiwan here.
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