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Rule changeScienceMediaUKConfirmed

UK Supreme Court rules an AI system cannot be named as a patent inventor

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Source: UK Supreme Court (National Archives case law)

In Thaler v Comptroller-General [2023] UKSC 49, five justices held unanimously that an inventor under the Patents Act 1977 must be a natural person, so Stephen Thaler’s AI system DABUS could not be one. Thaler’s ownership of DABUS did not entitle him to the patents, and his two applications were treated as withdrawn. The court said it was not deciding whether inventions made autonomously by AI should be patentable.

Why it matters

Applicants seeking UK patents for AI-generated inventions must name a human inventor, and any change for machine-made inventions is left to Parliament.

When
20 Dec 2023
ID
WTA-N-2023-0172
Who
UK Supreme Court, UK Intellectual Property Office; Stephen Thaler

Summary by wheresthe.ai, from UK Supreme Court. Checked against the source on 9 Oct 2026.

Read the original at UK Supreme Court

Source copy: download the page as saved on 18 Oct 2026 (PDF). Document the source offers: document 1 (PDF). Also held by the Internet Archive.

Next stop on this Storyline: Led toTokyo District Court rules an AI system cannot be named as a patent inventor

Cite this story

WTA-N-2023-0172: “UK Supreme Court rules an AI system cannot be named as a patent inventor.” wheresthe.ai, 20 Dec 2023. https://wheresthe.ai/d/gb-supreme-court-thaler-dabus-2023-12/ (source: UK Supreme Court (National Archives case law)).

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