Revised Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions (USPTO, 90 FR 54636)

Summary

The USPTO published revised inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions in the Federal Register on November 28, 2025 (90 FR 54636, FR Doc. 2025-21457). It rescinds in full the February 2024 guidance, which had applied the Pannu joint-inventorship factors to AI-assisted inventions, explaining that those factors apply only between natural persons. Under the revised guidance the same inventorship standard applies to all inventions whether or not AI was used, there is no separate standard for AI-assisted inventions, and only natural persons can be inventors.

Key dates

1. November 28, 2025 (publication)Takes effect
2. November 28, 2025Issued
3. October 16, 2026Checked against sources
4. October 21, 2026Checked against sources

Developments are added when the record is reviewed. Next review: October 16, 2027.

Evidence

Each passage is quoted from its source. The quoted passages are re-checked against the live pages every month.

1. The USPTO hereby rescinds the previously published Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions and replaces it with the guidance below.

   Supports: Rescinds 2024 guidance

   The same legal standard for determining inventorship applies to all inventions, regardless of whether AI systems were used in the inventive process.

   Supports: Single standard

   There is no separate or modified standard for AI-assisted inventions. The Federal Circuit has held that AI cannot be named as an inventor on a patent application (or issued patent) and that only natural persons can be inventors.

   Supports: Only natural persons

   Document Citation 90 FR 54636 Document Number 2025-21457 Document Type Notice Pages 54636-54637 (2 pages) Publication Date 11/28/2025

   Supports: Citation and publication date

   Revised Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions Office of the Federal Register (federalregister.gov) Primary source