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
Year in Review: The Briefing’s Top 3 Podcast Episodes in 2023
Weintraub Tobin’s Intellectual Property podcast, The Briefing, published nearly 50 episodes this year covering a variety of IP issues relating to trademark, copyright, and entertainment law. As we look back, we want to share The Briefing’s most popular episodes in 2023.Continue Reading Year in Review: The Briefing’s Top 3 Podcast Episodes in 2023
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!