“DABUS” becomes the first Artificial Intelligence Inventor in the patent history

South Africa has recently become the first country globally to issue a patent designating an artificial intelligence tool named ‘DABUS’ as the inventor and the machine’s owner as of the patent owner. However, DABUS stands for ‘Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience’. The patent got published in South Africa’s Patent Journal on July 28, 2021. Legal representatives of the patent were Ryan Abbott and Von Seidels. Both also confirmed the news.

However, South Africa does not focus more upon formal examination, rather it requires its applicants to merely complete a filing for their own invention. The same patent which got approved by South Africa got rejected by the UK, the US, and even at the EPO. The invention was generated by DABUS. The owner of the machine DABUS is Stephen Thaler who is the CEO of Imagination Engines. The patent has now been listed on his name as the owner of the patent in South Africa.

Thaler described DABUS as a human-like machine, saying, “It is sentient and develops ideas. DABUS-created inventions include an emergency warning light and a food container that improves grip and heat transfer.” Since the patent has now been officially granted by several Companies and the Intellectual Property Commission [South Africa’s IP office], it is open to objection having novelty and inventiveness as a basis.

Abbott led a group of attorneys on behalf of DABUS and Thaler. He also welcomed it as a crucial development in the AI space. “We see this issuance as a key step towards recognition of the importance of encouraging individuals and companies to make, develop and use AI to generate socially valuable innovations. As AI continues to advance and to increasingly perform human sorts of activities, this will result in a host of challenges and opportunities for businesses, including with respect to disputes,” he added.

It is to be noted that the patent is the subject of parallel pending proceedings in countries including the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and the EPO. Abbott himself argued in one of the cases for DABUS at the England and Wales Court of Appeal. The court is hearing the case of an appeal against the ruling of the High Court upholding a UKIPO ruling that DABUS could not be deemed the inventor of the patent. Such a decision of South Africa will act as a precedent for Artificial Intelligence space. We all can expect a positive outlook from other nations for AI in near future.