Federal Circuit says AI system cannot be named inventor under Patent Act

Thaler v. Vidal put AI inventorship squarely into the 2022 patent archive.

The Federal Circuit held that an AI software system could not be listed as an inventor under the Patent Act because the statutory text requires a natural person.

For companies using generative and autonomous design tools, the case does not eliminate patent protection for AI-assisted inventions. It does require human inventorship analysis and careful documentation of conception.

The decision remains a foundation for every later AI-and-patent policy debate.