“The unequivocal statements from the Federal Circuit that ‘inventors much be natural persons’ and ‘only natural persons can be inventors’ supports the plain meaning of ‘individual’ in the Patent Act,” the judge ruled.
Thaler created a “creativity machine” called DABUS that “invented” a beverage container and a “device for attracting enhanced attention.” Abbott and his team filed applications in 17 jurisdictions around the world listing DABUS as the inventor.
The case is Thaler v. Hirshfeld, 20-903, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria)