It was recently reported in major Japanese media that European Patent Office (EPO) President António Campinos stated that the growing number of AI-related inventions is creating new challenges for the patent system.
However, the reports did not clearly distinguish between two different issues: the increase in AI-related inventions and inventions created autonomously by AI. While this may have been due to space limitations, these are fundamentally different questions.
The first issue concerns inventions that use AI technology or inventions relating to AI technology itself. The second issue is how the patent system should deal with inventions that are generated autonomously by AI, without human involvement.
In my view, President Campinos was mainly referring to the second issue. The key question is whether the current principle adopted in many countries—that an inventor must be a human being—can continue to be maintained. This raises important questions that go to the very foundation of the patent system.
Countries that fail to address this issue through legal and institutional reform may find themselves at a disadvantage in future international competition. I believe this will inevitably become a legislative challenge that governments around the world must consider and resolve. I sincerely hope that Japan will play a leading role in this important discussion.