The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has unveiled a new artificial intelligence strategy aimed at integrating AI technology into its operations to streamline and enhance the processing of patent and copyright applications.

The strategy outlines USPTO’s AI vision and mission, focusing on five key areas: 

• Promoting the development of IP policies that advance inclusive AI innovation and creativity

• Building best-in-class AI capabilities by investing in computational infrastructure, data resources, and business-driven product development

• Promoting the responsible use of AI within the USPTO and across the broader innovation ecosystem

• Developing AI expertise within the USPTO’s workforce, and

• Collaborating with other U.S. government agencies, international partners, and the public on shared AI priorities.

“The AI Strategy is our first major effort at describing the challenges and goals we navigate as we work toward using the full potential of AI, within our own agency operations and by encouraging its adoption throughout society. It will serve as a guide as we at the USPTO engage with our colleagues, our domestic stakeholders, and diplomatically with our international allies,” Derrick Brent, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, wrote.

Last year, through a new policy, USPTO embraced the integration of AI in innovation. At the same time, the office stressed the necessity of attributing a human contributor to a patent.

A guidance clarified that while AI-assisted inventions are not automatically ineligible for patents, the assessment of inventorship should prioritize human input.