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Enforcement or court caseScienceMediaJapanReported

Tokyo District Court rules an AI system cannot be named as a patent inventor

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Source: Jones Day: Tokyo court holds AI system cannot be inventor under patent lawAlso reported by SOFTIC

On 16 May 2024 the Tokyo District Court dismissed Stephen Thaler’s challenge to the Japan Patent Office’s rejection of an application naming the AI system DABUS as inventor. The court held that an inventor under the Patent Act must be a natural person and said any framework for AI-generated inventions is for the Diet to design.

Why it matters

Applicants in Japan must name a human inventor for AI-assisted inventions, the same position taken on DABUS by courts in the UK and US and by the European Patent Office.

When
16 May 2024
ID
WTA-N-2024-0206
Where
Japan
Who
Tokyo District Court, Japan Patent Office; Stephen Thaler
Authority
Tokyo District Court
Target
Stephen Thaler (DABUS)
Action
ruling: AI cannot be inventor
Status
decided · Enforcement ledger

Summary by wheresthe.ai, from Jones Day and the reporting credited above. We could not open the primary document, so it is marked Reported. Checked against the source on 9 Oct 2026.

Read the original at Jones Day

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

Earlier in this Storyline: What led hereUK Supreme Court rules an AI system cannot be named as a patent inventor

Cite this story

WTA-N-2024-0206: “Tokyo District Court rules an AI system cannot be named as a patent inventor.” wheresthe.ai, 16 May 2024. https://wheresthe.ai/d/jp-tokyo-court-dabus-ai-inventor-2024-05/ (source: Jones Day: Tokyo court holds AI system cannot be inventor under patent law).

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