WASHINGTON (December 1, 2025) — On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a Federal Register notice establishing the USPTO’s new policy on examining patent applications in which artificial intelligence (AI) has been used, and rescinding the USPTO’s previous guidance of February 13, 2024 on the topic.
Frank Cullen, executive director of the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP), released the following statement welcoming the USPTO’s action:
“C4IP applauds Director Squires and the USPTO for taking the right step in support of promoting the use of artificial intelligence to develop innovations in all fields of technology by repealing the agency’s previous guidance that mistakenly treated AI as equivalent to a human rather than as a new tool used by humans. The new guidance properly follows court precedent and statute by stating that AI cannot be named as an inventor itself, but that its use in the inventive process is no different than an inventor’s use of any other tool. The guidance thereby ensures that artificial barriers do not chill the use of AI by researchers and innovators out of fear that fabricated legal tests on inventorship and disclosure will later call into question the validity of a patent grant.”
About Council for Innovation Promotion: The Council for Innovation Promotion is a bipartisan coalition dedicated to promoting strong and effective intellectual property rights that drive innovation, boost economic competitiveness, and improve lives everywhere.