Artificial Intelligence And Patent Law – Analysis – Eurasia Review

Advances in AI raise novel questions for U.S. patent law and other branches of intellectual property law.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued guidance on whether inventions made using AI (AI-assisted inventions) and inventions about AI (new AI technologies) are patentable.
Current law requires a human inventor and does not allow patenting of inventions made solely by AI.
The Federal Circuit held in Thaler v. Vidal that an inventor must be a natural person, so AI systems cannot be listed as inventors on patents.
In 2024, USPTO issued guidance stating that AI-assisted inventions could be patented if a human significantly contributed to the invention. However, this guidance was rescinded in 2025, with revised guidance stating that AI is merely a tool that humans can use, and humans must still conceive inventions.
The patentability of new AI technologies themselves hinges on whether they qualify as “abstract ideas” that cannot be patented under current law.
USPTO’s 2024 AI Eligibility Guidance aims to clarify patent eligibility for AI inventions, focusing on whether AI inventions claim ineligible concepts or integrate such concepts in a practical application.
Stakeholders have mixed views on USPTO’s guidance, with some supporting and others criticizing it.
Congress has options to amend the Patent Act or continue monitoring USPTO’s guidance and case law to determine if new legislation is needed.

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