人工智能与知识产权 AI & IP （3）

欧洲专利局拒绝人工智能发明专利申请的理由
EPO’s Grounds For Refusing AI-Invented Patent Applications
2020年1月28日，欧洲专利局公布了一项通知，说明了近期拒绝两项人工智能系统为发明者的欧洲专利申请的理由。这两项申请在2018年秋天由个人提交， 在2019年11月被欧洲专利局以口头告知申请人的程序拒绝，理由是其不符合《欧洲专利公约》的法律规定——申请中指定的发明者应该是人类，而不是一台机器。
On 28 January 2020, the European Patent Office has published its decision setting out the reasons for its recent refusal of two European patent applications in which an AI system was designated as the inventor. Filed by an individual in autumn 2018, the applications were refused by the EPO following oral proceedings with the applicant in November 2019, on the grounds that they do not meet the legal requirement of European Patent Convention (EPC) that an inventor designated in the application has to be a human being, and not a machine.
辩论：机器能作为发明者
Argument: Machine Be Inventor
申请人辩称机器应可被视为发明者，而机器所有人是机器所产生的任何知识产权的受让人。
The applicant had argued that the machine should be recognized as the inventor and that he, as the owner of the machine, was an assignee of any IP rights created by his machine.
所持观点：机器为非人类
Held: Machine As Non-person
欧洲专利局不同意申请人的说法，认为申请中指定机器为发明者不符合《欧洲专利公约》第81条和第19条（1）的法律规定。《欧洲专利公约》没有在专利授予过程中列明主体为“非人类，即既不是自然人也不是法人。”
EPO did not agree with the applicant's position and held that an application designating a machine as the inventor did not meet the formal requirements under Art. 81 and Rule 19(1) of the EPC. The EPC did not provide for "non-persons, i.e. neither natural nor legal persons" in any role in patent grant proceedings.
原因
Reasoning
欧洲专利局认为，特别是在现阶段，人工智能系统或机器无任何权利是因为它们“没有自然人或法人的法律人格。”就“非自然人”而言，其法律人格只能在法律虚拟的基础上赋予，而法律虚拟的基础是立法创造或法理学理论。
In particular, the EPO held that, at present, AI systems or machines have no rights because they have "no legal personality comparable to natural or legal persons." Where "non-natural persons" are concerned, legal personality is only given on the basis of legal fictions, which are either created by legislation or through jurisprudence.
没有权利，就没有专利权
No Right No Legal Title
在人工智能发明的案例中，没有立法创造或法理学理论搭建出法律人格虚拟。由于主体是人工智能系统或者机器，因此它们没有权利，所以它们“对其创造的产物没有任何法律上可转移的权利”。
In the case of AI inventors, there has been no legislation or jurisprudence establishing such legal fiction. Since AI systems or machines, therefore, do not have rights, they, consequently, do not have "any legal title over their output" which could possibly be transferred to a new owner.