Imagine That IP Law Blog

Software development has become a driving force behind innovation and progress across many industries. A key factor in this development is open source software, which has transformed the way technology is created and shared. In this article, we’ll discuss open source software, the risks associated with using such software and strategic insights for corporations who use open source software.

What is Open Source Software?
Open source software (OSS) is computer software that is licensed in a way that allows its source code to be publicly available. This allows anyone to view ... Read More ›

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all the rage and grabs the public’s attention for its almost instantaneous song writing feats to creating deep fakes of all sorts. The possibility of having an almost instantaneous answer to a problem may prompt an employee to seek the answer AI can provide. Even if your company’s employee understands that the initial AI answer may be refined by follow up questions, this does not mean that the final result is not an intellectual property problem for your organization. Many companies believe their operations are such that the risk of IP infringement ... Read More ›

In 2022, when asked whether an artificial intelligence could be an inventor on a patent, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit definitively answered “no.” Thaler v. Vidal, 43 F.4th 1207 (Fed. Cir. 2022). But does this mean that inventions made with AI systems are completely ineligible for patenting? In a new memo published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) also says “no.”  “Inventorship Guidance for AI-assisted Inventions,” 89 FR 10043 (USPTO, February 13, 2024).

In Thaler v. Vidal, the ... Read More ›

AI-generated images have taken the internet by storm. From (occasionally terrifying) “deep fakes” to whimsical images of King Charles breakdancing, AI-generated images have entered the mainstream.

On August 18^th, in the case Thaler v. Perlmutter et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-01564 (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia), Judge Howell of the DC Circuit held that artificial intelligence cannot be an author under U.S. Copyright Law.

The copyright application before the Court claimed that a particular artificial intelligence (“AI”) system was the “author” and ... Read More ›

On May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike, initiating yet another standoff in the entertainment industry. One of the primary issues in the WGA’s contract dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is the use of artificial intelligence and creative machines such as GPT-4 in union projects, which the WGA sought to prevent. In an interview with Vice, John August, screenwriter of Charlie’s Angels and Big Fish, stated, “these large language models are progressing at an incredible rate. AI-generated material isn't ... Read More ›

In part one of this article, I discussed Dr. Stephen Thaler and his system DABUS, short for “Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience,” and distinctions between this and other artificial intelligence systems. Thaler believes the system is sentient and has the ability to dream and invent.

So what if he is right? The inventorship issue may be moot in a practical sense, as an applicant could simply use their own name on a declaration of inventorship, though Dr. Thaler contends this would be fraud. “I think the way that our lawmakers and courts are steering things ... Read More ›

Just as the U.S. Patent Office has declined to consider patent applications naming an artificial intelligence as an inventor, the U.S. Copyright Office has declared that works authored by artificial intelligent artists or authors are ineligible for copyright protection. In a new notice published in the Federal Register, “Copyright Registration Guidance: Works Containing Material Generated by Artificial Intelligence,” 88 FR 16190 (March 16, 2023), the Copyright Office reiterated that “copyright can protect only material that is the product of human creativity.” ... Read More ›

Part 1 in a 2 Part Series

In the age of creative machines and artificial intelligence, intellectual property law is facing new challenges and questions. As we continue to push the boundaries of what machines can create, the questions of ownership and authorship become more and more complex. An AI that can produce patentable inventions could also be used to pre-empt competitors’ use of the patent system by flooding the space with artificially generated prior art. Courts have yet to address this possibility. Judging by Dr. Stephen Thaler’s description of his DABUS system, the time ... Read More ›