IP Talk Episode 37: John Harmon on the Evolving Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Intellectual Property

John Harmon is a shareholder in both the Mechanical and Chemical & Materials Technologies Practices at Wolf Greenfield. He represents clients in industry and academia in a wide range of technologies related to the mechanical, materials, and chemistry fields. One area of particular interest these days is the evolving impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on intellectual property matters.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued its “Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions.” This guidance is pursuant to President Biden’s Executive Order last fall on the “safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of AI.”

In this edition of IP Talk with Wolf Greenfield, John Harmon offers perspective on these early days of AI application.

• 01:06 - A summary of the latest guidance from the USPTO
• 06:05 - An overview of the Thaler v. Vidal case
• 06:53 - What further action might be taken in the future to address the President's concerns?
• 09:01 - What constitutes an “invention” and how does AI muddy the waters?
• 11:59 - File earlier rather than later
• 12:52 - Simply applying AI to a problem doesn’t constitute patentable subject matter
• 14:29 - The issues that need to be considered when AI and robotics are used together
• 16:13 - Suggestions for moving forward with AI

Related content: 

• USPTO Guidance on Use of AI-Based Tools in Practice: How to Mitigate Risk
• USPTO Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions: Key Takeaways