Brazil Commission approves AI-assisted patent rules

The Industry, Commerce, and Services Commission of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has approved a proposal to regulate patents for inventions developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). The measure seeks to amend the Industrial Property Law (LPI - Law 9.279/96).

Under the approved text, patent rights for AI-assisted inventions will be attributed to the person or company responsible for financing and providing the technical resources used in the invention. This follows a recommendation by rapporteur Adriana Ventura, who removed a previous provision that would have allowed AI systems to be recognized as inventors or patent holders. Ventura argued that property rights, such as licensing, can only be exercised by natural or legal persons.

The objective is to align legislation with economic reality by supporting those who bear the financial and operational risks of AI, such as purchasing computing power or hiring engineers. The proposal also allows professionals who contributed inventively to the technology's development to be named as co-authors.