If AI Is an Inventor, Felix the Cat May Be Next, UK Lawyer Warns

If an artificial intelligence machine can be named as an inventor for a patent, pet cats could be next, a UK patent lawyer said at the nation’s top court, arguing only humans can be inventors in law.

The UK’s Supreme Court will decide whether an AI machine can be named as an inventor and who may own the patent. Imagination Engines Inc. founder, Stephen Thaler, challenged the rejection of his patent applications naming his AI machine as inventor for a beverage container and a flashing light.

The case is among increasing number of intellectual property disputes arising out of ...