The Device for Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience (DABUS) Patent Debate: Artificial Intelligence as Inventor in India

With the growth of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), a term coined by Klaus Schwab in 2016, the unprecedented emergence of machine intelligence also known as artificial intelligence took place. The lines between what a human could do and what a machine could do are blurring, with the machines today being just as capable as humans, if not more. The growth of artificial intelligence ignited fires in the form of debates in all areas of human life and resultantly the debate which emerged in the context of patent laws is one of whether AI should be recognised as an inventor under the patent laws around the globe or not. The question garnered attention and opinions from various stakeholders after the efforts made by Prof. Ryan Abbott who may be called the pioneer of advocating for providing intellectual property rights and protection to AI. This paper deals with the one of the first patent applications listing AI as an inventor and its fate in different countries, with a focus on how the application has been dealt with by the Indian Patent Office. The paper also lists out various reasons in support of and against the idea of granting inventorship rights to AI. The author also while concluding discusses what could be some other alternatives of providing protection to the works generated by AI.