A Legal Study on AI Inventorship Under Patent Law in Germany and the United States

By (author) Myung-Ji Kang

Book cover: A Legal Study on AI Inventorship Under Patent Law in Germany and the United States

Extent: 228 pages

Publisher: Duncker & Humblot

Subjects: German Studies

Series: Studien zum vergleichenden Privatrecht / Studies in Comparative Private Law

Series volume number: 33

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(February 2026)

ISBN: 9783428196104

6.18 x 9.17 inches

Price: $116.00

In stock

»A Legal Study on AI Inventorship Under Patent Law in Germany and the United States«: This thesis asks a provocative question: Can AI be an inventor? The answer is: Yes. By applying the »2/7 Questions Process« from German and US patent law, it compares inventorship rules and evaluates the roles of humans and AI. Legal theories, historical precedents, and philosophical reflections together show that recognizing AI inventorship is both legally plausible and conceptually justified.


»A Legal Study on AI Inventorship Under Patent Law in Germany and the United States«: This thesis asks a provocative question: Can AI be an inventor? The answer is: Yes. By applying the »2/7 Questions Process« from German and US patent law, it compares inventorship rules and evaluates the roles of humans and AI. Legal theories, historical precedents, and philosophical reflections together show that recognizing AI inventorship is both legally plausible and conceptually justified.

1. Introduction
Background – Previous Literature – Gaps in Existing Literature and Contribution of This Study – Overview of the Structure – Scope of the Research

2. Understanding AI in the Patent Field
Three Key Components Defining AI and the Significance of Understanding Software – Understanding AI Software – Today’s Mass Production of AI Inventions – Comparison between AI Software and Human Brain

3. Comparative Studies of the Requirements for Inventorship Under Patent Law in Germany and the US
Introduction – Three Preliminary Remarks – The Invention Process – The Application Process – The Official Position of the Patent Office and Courts in both Germany and the US on AI Inventorship – Final Remarks and Critical Reflection

4. The 2/7 Questions and Possible AI-related Candidates for Inventors when AI is Excluded
Introduction – The 2/7 Questions: The Requirements for Inventorship – Possibility of Each Candidate’s Inventorship – Possibility of Joint Inventorship of all Possible Candidates

5. Empty Column to »Inventor’s Name«
Introduction – No Room for Unnamed Inventors in Existing Legal Frameworks – Three Models of Inventor Attribution – Why the Inventor Field Must Not Be Empty: Legal, Procedural, and Ethical Implications

6. Affirmation of AI Inventorship
Opposing AI as Inventor: Arguments and Counterarguments – The Four-Perspective Analysis in Support of AI Inventorship

7. E-Person as Inventor
The Current Legal Situation: The ›Inventor as a Formal Expression‹ and the ›Inventor as a Substantive Truth‹ – Establishment of ›E-Persons‹ – E-Persons in Patent Law: Conceptualizing the Legal Subject of the Inventive Process

  • By (author) Myung-Ji Kang