
In April 2020, the US Patent and Trademark Office ruled that only “natural persons” could be credited as the inventor of a patent, and a US court decided that yes, that’s what the law technically says.
South Africa and Australia decided to go the other direction, granting one patent and reinstating a second patent application filed by AI researcher Steven Thaler, whose AI system DABUS reportedly came up with a flashing light and a new type of food container.