In a world-first, South Africa grants patent to an artificial intelligence system

South Africa’s patent office, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, granted the patent to a food container based on fractal geometry invented by DABUS.

• The patent application for listing DABUS as the inventor was filed in patent offices of different countries (including Australia, United States, Europe, and South Africa).
• The application was rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Officeand the European Patent Office in the formal examination phase. They gave three reasons:
  • Only human inventors: Their respective patent laws only provide for human inventors and NOT for Artificial Intelligence.
  • Lack of mental conception: Ideas, for the purposes of patents, require the element of “mental conception”. Such conception is only present in a human mind and not in AI.
  • Rights issue: Furthermore, inventorship comes with ‘rights’, which AI is not legally capable of possessing.
• At last, only South Africa granted the patent to DABUS as inventor for “a food container based on fractal geometry”.

What is DABUS?

• Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience or DABUS is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system.
• Created by: Stephen Thaler
• It simulates human brainstorming and creates new inventions.
• DABUS is a particular type of AI, often referred to as creativity machines because they are capable of independent and complex functioning.
• The system differs from everyday AI like Siri (the voice of Apple’s iPhones).

• South Africa’s decision to grant patent has received widespread backlash from intellectual property experts which argued that-
  • Unlawful: As per the law, the decision was incorrect, as AI lacks the necessary legal standing to qualify as an inventor. 
  • Less reliable commission: This approval was simply an oversight on the part of the commission, which has been known in the past to be less than reliable.
  • No formal examination in the process: Moreover, this is clearly an indictment of the country’s patent procedures, which currently only consist of a formal examination step.

• AI is simply the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs.
• It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence..

• US-India AI Initiative: The Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) launched the US-India Artificial Intelligence Initiative in March 2021.
  • Aim: To foster AI innovation by sharing ideas and experiences, identifying new opportunities in research and development and bilateral collaboration. 
• Responsible AI for Youth: It is a national programme for government schools to empower the young generation to become AI-ready and reduce the skill gap in India.
  • Established by: the National e-Governance Division of MeitY
  • Aim: To help the students develop a new-age tech mindset and relevant skill-sets. 
• MCA 3.0 portal: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) recently launched a new version of its portal, version 3.0, MCA 21, which will leverage data analytics, AI, and ML, to simplify regulatory filings for companies. 
• AI portal: A dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) portal, India AIis slated as a central hub for everything. The portal will act as a one-stop-shop for all AI-related developments and initiatives in India. 
  • Jointly developed by: MeitY and NASSCOM in June 2020
• Promoting AI in schools: NCERT is preparing a new National Curriculum Framework for School Education in pursuance of the National Education Policy 2020. This will also aim at introducing a basic course on AI at the secondary level.

With the patent approval, South Africa wants to increase innovation to solve its socio-economic issues
Given the policy environment and the vast potential of AI, the granting of the patent makes sense.