Can AI inventions be patented? Scott Hervey and Eric Caligiuri explore recent USPTO guidance on patenting AI-assisted inventions in this episode of The Briefing.Continue Reading The Briefing: The Patent Puzzle: USPTO’s Guidelines for AI Inventions
Patent Law
And Again, Abstract Ideas are Not Patentable!
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down many patents on the grounds that they are invalid as directed to an abstract idea, relying on the Supreme Court’s Alice decision. In In re Elbaum (Fed. Cir. 12/20/2023) 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 33719, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s rejection of the claims in a patent application as directed to an abstract idea.Continue Reading And Again, Abstract Ideas are Not Patentable!
USPTO Issues Guidance on Patentability of Inventions Developed with the Assistance of Artificial Intelligence
On February 12, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued guidance on the patentability of inventions developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence, saying that a human must have made a “significant contribution” to the invention. The USPTO explained that while AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable, the inventorship analysis should focus on human contributions, as patents function to incentivize and reward human ingenuity. Thus, patent protection may be sought for inventions for which a natural person provided a significant contribution to the invention, and the guidance provides procedures for determining the same.Continue Reading USPTO Issues Guidance on Patentability of Inventions Developed with the Assistance of Artificial Intelligence
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Every year, I write about patents that have to do with Christmas. Here are a few I have found, some of which were issued in 2023 and others of which are older.
Design patent D990,096 is a rather strange patent entitled “Elf Hand.” The design looks like a prickly glove with four claws on the end of a round dowel. It is not very appealing. The listed prior art includes a backscratcher, so maybe that is what this is for.Continue Reading MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The Briefing: Netflix to Pay $2.5M to GoTV for Patent Infringement
Netflix has been ordered to pay GoTV Streaming $2.5 Million in damages for infringing one of its wireless technology patents. Scott Hervey and Eric Caligiuri discuss this update on this episode of The Briefing.
Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel or listen to this podcast episode here.