Pharmaceutical companies leveraging AI in drug development are encountering hurdles with patent registrations, as U.S. law mandates that only human inventors be named in applications. This issue was highlighted by MIT Technology Review.
One notable case is that of Insilico Medicine, which claimed its generative AI platform discovered a potentially effective compound for treating pulmonary fibrosis. In the patent application, there was no mention of the AI; instead, five individuals were credited as inventors, including the company's CEO, Alex Zhavoronkov.
This approach aligns with U.S. judicial practice. In 2022, the DABUS case in Washington's appellate court reaffirmed that only humans can be considered inventors under the law.
The case involved an AI-designed food container, and court documents clarified that the term "individual" in U.S. regulations refers to a human being.
Consequently, patent disputes focus on the specifics of human contributions rather than the AI's involvement. Ryan Abbott, a partner at Brown, Neri, Smith & Khan, suggested that as time progresses, patents related to AI innovations may face widespread challenges if inconsistencies in documentation arise.
"If I asked Claude to cure cancer and it succeeded, I think it would be inappropriate to claim that as my achievement," the attorney remarked.
According to MIT Technology Review, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office initially provided guidance on when a person could be considered a co-inventor when using AI. However, following Donald Trump's return to the White House, the agency began viewing AI as a "tool like a calculator," which does not need to be separately disclosed in applications.
Sara Corman, Chief Legal Officer and Head of Development at Isomorphic Labs, believes that as AI's role continues to grow, existing laws will need to be revisited. Currently, companies ensure a human is involved in the development chain and document their participation in the synthesis, modification, and testing of molecules.
Additionally, it was reported in July that the AI startup Anthropic launched a platform for scientists called Claude Science and announced plans to develop treatments for "advanced" diseases.