Court of Appeal (England and Wales)

Thaler v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks

[2021] EWCA Civ 137420211 min read
The case in brief30-second read
Facts
Dr Thaler filed UK patent applications naming DABUS, an AI system, as the inventor and claiming the right to the patents as its owner.
Issue
Whether an AI system can be an inventor under the Patents Act 1977.
Held
An inventor must be a natural person, so DABUS could not be named. By majority the appeal was dismissed and the applications treated as withdrawn; Birss LJ dissented on the procedural point. The UK Supreme Court later affirmed in 2023.
Principle
Under UK law only a natural person can be an inventor.
Cite this

Facts

  • Dr Thaler filed UK patent applications naming DABUS, an AI system, as the inventor and claiming the right to the patents as its owner.

Issue

  1. Whether an AI system can be an inventor under the Patents Act 1977.

Held

  • An inventor must be a natural person, so DABUS could not be named. By majority the appeal was dismissed and the applications treated as withdrawn; Birss LJ dissented on the procedural point. The UK Supreme Court later affirmed in 2023.

Cite this

Citation

Thaler v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks [2021] EWCA Civ 1374

Reported: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2021/1374.pdf (English case; not on IK or SCI). This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.