AI machine cannot be inventor, rules ED VA

U.S. federal judge Leonie Brikema ruled that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) machine cannot be listed as an inventor on a US patent under current law.  Stephen Thaler sued the USPTO after it denied his patent applications that listed an AI named DABUS as the inventor of a new type of flashing light and a beverage container based on fractal geometry.  PTO denied the applications because a machine does not qualify as an inventor because it is not a person. In affirming the PTO's decision, Judge Brikema held that the definitions provided by Congress for "inventor" within the Patent Act referred to an "individual" and the statutory meaning is a natural person or a human being. While acknowledging Thaler's arguments based on policy considerations such as incentivizing innovation, the court reasoned that the ultimate decision would lie with Congress.