South Africa Grants World’s First-Ever Patent with AI as Inventor

Inventions created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) are the next big thing in the field of innovation. The question, “To whom can a patent be granted for AI inventions?” has been a part of many debates for a pretty long period now. Surprisingly and interestingly, South Africa has recently become the world’s first-ever nation to grant a patent that names AI as its inventor. It has also named the AI’s owner as the owner of the patent invention.

The patent has been secured by the University of Surrey’s professor, Ryan Abbott, and his team. They faced several issues with the Patent Offices across the globe over the dire need to recognize AI as the inventor of patented inventions for many years.

All this while, Abbott was representing Dr. Stephen Thaler, who is the creator of an artificial neural system known as ‘Dabus.’ According to Thaler, Dabus is the sole inventor of a food container capable of improving heat transfer and grip.

Since 2018, Abbott, along with his team, has filed Patent Applications listing Dabus as the inventor in more than ten jurisdictions worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Last year, the High Court in Wales and England supported the decision of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) by rejecting the patent application. In its final ruling, the Court stated that although Dabus created the inventions, it couldn’t be granted a patent as it wasn’t a natural person. Even the European Patent Office (EPO) and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected the application on the same grounds.

In a recent statement delivered, the Director of the Institute for People-Centred AI at the University of Surrey, Professor Adrian Hilton, said the world is “moving from an age in which invention was the preserve of people to an era where machines are capable of realizing the inventive step.”

Abbott strongly believes that the current situation in law is no longer fit for purpose and could easily put the investment in AI at huge risk. He also pointed towards the increasing use of AI in research and development (R&D) to come up with new drug compounds and support drug repurposing. In such scenarios, he stated that there could be an invention eligible for securing Patent Protection but not an individual eligible to be an inventor. According to Abbott, if what is written in the previous line means that a patent won’t be granted, then companies like Novartis, Siemens, or DeepMind, all of which are investing in AI, won’t be able to use AI in their respective areas.

Welcoming the decision of South Africa, Abbott said that this outcome indeed showcases an understanding of the utmost importance that lies in motivating people to make, develop, and use AI for generating socially valuable innovations. He further added that this decision would serve as a big example to the rest of the world concerning the use of AI in generating human benefits. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Maldives – What Happens if a TM Cautionary Notice is Published only in English?

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN MALDIVES

In Maldives, there is no statutory trademark law dealing with the mechanism of trademark registration; however, the resident companies, nationals of Maldives, and foreign applicants can still get their proposed marks registered as trademarks. A trademark, in Maldives, protects a word, slogan, phrase, logo, or some combination that connects a product or service with the manufacturer of that product or service and prevents the same from being used by someone else. A trademark can take many shapes, as long as the mark that an individual wants to protect is distinctive.

  • LOCAL APPLICANTS – The resident companies and nationals of Maldives can file an in-person trademark application (for their proposed trademarks) before the Ministry of Economic Development to obtain trademark protection.

*Note – Before going ahead with trademark registration, the resident companies and nationals must obtain business name registration.

  • FOREIGN APPLICANTS – Unlike most countries across the globe, the process of trademark registration in Maldives does not include the stages of filing, examination, and advertisement but is merely based on the publication of a Trademark (TM) Cautionary Notice. A trademark cautionary notice is a mere publication of a notice in the newspapers to inform/notify the general public about the mark that is registered as a trademark along with the legal trademark rights of its owner. The cautionary notice should include the details of the proprietor, description of the trademark, and classification of the goods/services according to the Nice Classification. The foreign applicants are required to publish a TM cautionary notice in the local newspaper in both English and in the vernacular, which is Dhivehi, thereby cautioning the public and trade about the ownership of the trademark.

*It is imperative to keep in mind that a TM cautionary notice must be published in the local newspaper in both English and Dhivehi (regional language) as publication only in English won’t have any legal effect. It won’t inform the public at large about the fact that the mark in question belongs to the said proprietor. Also, publication only in English reduces the possibility of any prior owner/user of the mark in question to contact the new owner/user immediately and prevent him or her from using it. 

TRADEMARK RENEWAL IN MALDIVES

Due to no specific trademark law in Maldives, trademark renewal involves the publication of the TM cautionary notice in the local newspaper after every 03 years; however, it is highly advisable to publish the registered trademark every year if the owner wants to establish the use of the mark in Maldives. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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