ChatGPT与专利间的距离:美国人工智能专利保护的理论动态

The Distance between ChatGPT and Patents:The Theoretical Trends of Patent Protection of Artificial Intelligence in the U.S.

人工智能正在成为各产业的基础,美国更是率先推出最新一代生成式人工智能,ChatGPT是其代表之一,将人工智能的信息处理水平推向新高潮。适用、支持、规范人工智能的基本法律理念与原则并就这些问题达成国际共识,对中国的创新能力及知识产权法律保护国际治理能力提升至关重要。虽然认同人工智能技术及应用应被支持,但专利制度是不是提供支持的合适机制一直是人工智能能否适用知识产权法律保护的关键问题。关于人工智能的专利保护,美国学者在法律理论研究方面已形成基本共识,即人工智能技术有机会获得保护,但它的生成物却由于缺少适格发明人问题,难以获得保护。

Artificial intelligence(AI)is becoming the foundation of various industries,and the U.S.is the first to launch the latest generation of generative AI,of which ChatGPT is one of the representatives,pushing the information processing level of AI to a new climax.For improving China’s innovation ability and the capacity for governing intellectual property(IP)legal pro⁃tection at an international level,it is critical to implement,advocate,and regulate the basic legal concepts and principles of AI and encourage a global harmonization of the rules.While agreeing that AI technologies and applications should be supported,whether the patent system is the appropriate mechanism to provide support has been a key issue in the application of IP legal pro⁃tection to AI.Regarding AI’s patent protection,the U.S.legal scholars unanimously agree that AI technologies can be protected under patent law,but the products made by AI are hardly protected under patent law due to the lack of human inventors.