Who (or what) is an “inventor” under patent law

• Inventors are generally the only ones who can apply for a patent • The “inventor” remains conceptually ambiguous in many national frameworks; these do not specify who the inventor is or how the inventor should be determined • National laws define “inventor” as: • The person who contributed to the claims (ie. [...] UK) • Many others have have no explicit requirements The human inventor requirement 4 The human inventor • Patent systems presume the “inventor” is a natural (human) person • The inventor as human as its roots in long-standing cultural and legal traditions • Invention is intrinsically tied to human ingenuity & creativity • Historically, the inventor was the “true and first inventor” of new creatio. [...] The human inventor requirement 5 The “human inventor” requirement • Patent systems were established in the absence of alternative entities that could possess a “fire of genius” and capacity for innovation • National patent laws therefore assume the inventor is human • The inventor has exclusive rights to exploit and monopolize their inventions in exchange for a public disclosure • The inventor con. [...] Establish who contributed to the “key inventorship component” of the invention bya) Determining the characteristic part of the invention that is fundamental to the invention (ie. [...] whether the invention produces a desired effect?) Patent law inventorship 12 • Inventorship is consistently tied to: • The creative or intelligent Conclusion: conception of the invention; or defining • An implicit or explicit contribution to its development “inventorship” • Creative contribution beyond abstract through patent case ideas is a foundational principle for inventorship law • Inventorsh.