発明者認定基準の相違がAI支援発明に及ぼす影響

20/6/2026

AIの進化により、AIを活用して発明を生み出すことが多くなってきました。発明者は自然人に限るというのがグローバルな原則となっていますが、AIの支援を受けた発明を想定したとき、日本と米国の発明者認定基準の相違が大きく影響するケースが考えられます。米国は人間が具体的な解決策を事前に把握していたかを問う「着想（Conception）」を重視し、日本は発明の核心部分への「創作的寄与」を幅広く評価する傾向にありますので、この解釈の差により、人間が課題設定や事後検証のみを行った場合、米国では権利化が困難になる一方で、日本では維持できるというリスクが生じ得ます。特に創薬や材料探索などAIの自律性が高い分野でこの懸念が大きくなっています。
生成AIに、日本と米国の発明者認定基準の相違が及ぼす影響について深堀させました。問題提起として、今後議論が深まることを期待しています。なお、生成AIによる調査・分析結果は、公開された情報からだけの分析であり、必ずしも実情を示したものではないこと、誤った情報も含まれていることについてはご留意されたうえで、ご参照ください。

The Impact of Differences in Inventorship Standards on AI-Assisted Inventions
As AI continues to advance, inventions generated with the assistance of AI are becoming increasingly common. While the global principle remains that inventors must be natural persons, significant issues may arise when AI-assisted inventions are evaluated under the differing inventorship standards of Japan and the United States.
The United States places strong emphasis on “conception,” requiring that a human inventor possess a definite and permanent idea of the specific solution before the invention is completed. In contrast, Japan tends to evaluate inventorship more broadly based on the inventor’s “creative contribution” to the core aspects of the invention. Because of this difference in interpretation, situations may arise in which a person merely defines the problem and later verifies the results generated by AI. In such cases, obtaining patent protection may be difficult in the United States, while patent rights could still be maintained in Japan.
This divergence is particularly concerning in fields where AI operates with a high degree of autonomy, such as drug discovery, materials exploration, and molecular design. As AI systems increasingly contribute to the generation of novel technical solutions, differences in inventorship standards may lead to significant discrepancies in patent eligibility and enforceability across jurisdictions.
I asked generative AI to conduct an in-depth analysis of how these differences between Japanese and U.S. inventorship standards may affect AI-assisted inventions. I hope this serves as a starting point for further discussion and debate on this important issue.
Please note that the research and analysis generated by AI are based solely on publicly available information. They may not necessarily reflect actual circumstances and may contain inaccuracies. Readers are encouraged to review the information with appropriate caution.

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