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from the do-you-want-skynet?-This-is-how-you-get-skynet dept.
The European Patent Office has rejected two patent applications filed on behalf of an AI by researchers. The AI is named DABUS ('device for the autonomous bootstrapping of unified sentience'),
DABUS created two unique, usable ideas that were submitted to [the] patent office: the first was a new kind of beverage container; and the second was a signal device to help search and rescue teams locate a target.
One of the researchers, Ryan Abbot of the University of Surrey, argues that this should have been handled differently
'If I teach my Ph.D. student that and they go on to make a final complex idea, that doesn't make me an inventor on their patent, so it shouldn't with a machine,' he said in October.
He believes the best approach would be to credit the AI as the inventor of the patents, and then credit the AI's human owner as the assignee given license to make decisions about the patent or draw benefit from it.
The EPO rejected the patent applications on the grounds that "there was no human inventor." This is a constraint built into European Copyright law, but until now not part of European Patent law.
Also at Techdirt
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 10 2020, @08:53PM (2 children)
Just like text output of Angband, WoW, or whatever other game is derivative of its code and text resources.
I.e. not public domain, which is all that matters.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 10 2020, @09:45PM (1 child)
So if I make a program that generates billions of possible music note and timing combinations based on things are generally acceptable as music by human standards. I as the author of that code can now safely claim derivative works for every work.
Now anyone that writes some music is pretty much guaranteed to infringe on one of 'my' 'works' to some degree.
The beauty of copyright is that it costs nothing as there is no longer a requirement to register works.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday January 13 2020, @03:23PM
There is a requirement to register works in order to sue. The court and/or opposing party will demand the copyright registration so they can examine exactly what is granted copyright.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.