Patentability of Artificial Intelligence Inventions: Judicial Analysis of the DABUS Litigation

Abstract

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence AI has challenged traditional concepts of inventorship and patent law. One of the most significant legal controversies in this field is the DABUS litigation, initiated by Dr. Stephen Thaler, who sought patent protection for inventions allegedly generated autonomously by an AI system known as DABUS Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience. Courts and patent offices across multiple jurisdictions were required to determine whether an AI system could be recognized as an inventor under existing patent laws. This article critically examines the judicial treatment of the DABUS applications in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, and Australia. It argues that contemporary patent frameworks remain firmly grounded in human inventorship and that courts have generally deferred the question of AI inventorship to legislative bodies. The study further explores the implications of these decisions for innovation policy and the future development of intellectual property law in the age of artificial intelligence.