UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Artificial intelligence and the "natural person" criterion in patent inventorship

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.1007/s43681-026-01214-z

Authors

Alya A. Arabi · Joshua Goldberg · Ahmed H. Al-Marzouqi

Reported year

2026

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.710228+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:04:47.710228+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

United Arab Emirates University

Reported affiliation countries

AE

Documentary abstract — original language

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems become integral to scientific and technological innovation, courts and patent offices are grappling with whether, and how, AI assistance affects inventorship. Current doctrine in leading jurisdictions limits inventorship to a "natural person", yet the accelerating convergence of robotics, synthetic biology, and neurotechnology exposes gaps in statutory definitions and policies. This article challenges the legal requirement of "natural person" for patent inventorship. It also discusses litigation involving AI‑named inventors. This article also covers thought experiments involving legally recognized non‑human or non‑biological persons ( e.g ., rivers granted legal personality, robots with formal citizenship) and biologically modified entities, to test boundary conditions and highlight policy risks. The discussion in this article revolves around the lack of clarity with cases of hybrids that could potentially fulfill the criteria of "natural person" and the operational mechanics of patent law including conception, reduction to practice, and chain of title and assignment. The article ends with suggestions related to clarifying the statutory language related to "natural person" inventorship. Without timely reform, inconsistent interpretations across jurisdictions could jeopardize patent validity, distort incentives, and invite strategic abuse. To address this, the article proposes clarifying the definition of "natural person" in patent law to eliminate interpretive ambiguity and expressly exclude artificial and hybrid entities from inventorship. The "natural person" requirement for patent inventorship warrants clarification in the age of artificial intelligence.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W7203641790

DOI

10.1007/s43681-026-01214-z

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Natural entities mentioned

River

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-026-01214-z
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7203641790

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

• openalex:w3034694108 · CITES
• openalex:w3086239550 · CITES
• Robot as Legal Person: Electronic Personhood in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence · CITES
• openalex:w4221096087 · CITES
• openalex:w4313427881 · CITES
• openalex:w4404075792 · CITES
• openalex:w4408764486 · CITES
• openalex:w4412637207 · CITES
• openalex:w7128486439 · CITES

0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.