Can AI invent a patent, or be listed as an inventor?
Reviewed by
Dominic Davies, patent attorney (20+ years)
· Last reviewed
September 7, 2026
No, patent offices and courts worldwide, including the USPTO, EPO and UK courts in the DABUS cases, require a natural person to be named as inventor, and an invention generated entirely by AI without significant human contribution can't be patented. This remains an actively developing area of law as AI-assisted invention becomes more common.
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