Thaler v Commissioner of Patents - [2023] 2 NZLR 603

Patents — “Inventor” — Whether artificial intelligence (AI) can be inventor — Statutory interpretation — Whether inventor required to be natural person under Patents Act 1953 — Legislative history — Overseas applications — Whether expanding definition of inventor — Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty 2022 rr 4.1(a)(iv), 4.4 and 4.6.

Statutes — Interpretation — “Inventor” — Whether inventor required to be natural person under Patents Act 1953 — Legislative history — Natural meaning — Patents Act 1953 ss 7(1), 8(2) and 23.