Robot Inventors: Patently Impossible?

摘要

As two patent attorneys and a tech-nical adviser at a long-established Phila-rndelphia intellectual property law firm, we read R. D. King et al. 's Report about robotic inventors ("The automation of science," 3 April, p. 85) with interest. We wonder whether the products invented by robots will ultimately become free to the public without the possibility for patent protection.rnAmerican patent law (35 U.S.C. Section 102) says that a "person shall be entitled to a patent unless..." (emphasis added). That preamble to section 102 limits the ability to patent to a person; machines are presumably excluded. This conclusion is reinforced by section 101, which limits the invention to the discoverer: "Whoever invents.. .may obtain a patent...." Section 101 uses "whoever," not "whatever." Thus, a person using a robot that invents something may face some serious statutory impediments to patent protection.