A Critical Analysis Of Technical Effect Or Technical Fiction? Re-Evaluating Section 3(K) Of The Patents Act, 1970 For Ai-Generated Inventions
- IJLLR Journal
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Swathi Krishna P.H., LLM, Amity Law School, Amity University, Bengaluru
Dr. Ajoy Jose, Assistant Professor, Amity Law School, Amity University, Bengaluru
ABSTRACT
AI is far removed from research into the academic arena and is now actively involved in the creation of commercially viable, patentable inventions, which is straining long-standing patent law principles. Under Section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970, any invention which is a mathematical or business method, or a computer programme per se is not eligible for patent.Under Section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970, any invention that is a ‘mathematical method or business method', or is a ‘computer programme per se' is ineligible for patent in India. The provision was never intended to cover the specific case of an AI system identifying a technical problem and then suggesting a specific technical solution. The provision was created when software and algorithms were the primary issues in patent offices, and it was never intended to cover the unique position of an AI system identifying a technical problem and then suggesting a specific technical solution. The central question of this paper is whether it is meaningful to distinguish between a real technical effect and what a critic may label a technical fiction as a "skin deep" characterization of a largely non-technical product. This paper supports this claim by examining the words of Section 3(k) in the light of how analogous bodies (such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Patent Office) have struggled with the problem of AI-generated inventions, as well as by engaging with existing scholarship in the field of AI and IP policy. The paper also argues that the Indian patent regime, lacking a viable "technical effect" requirement and requiring the inventor to be a natural person, is fraught with an absence of clarity and a risk of inhibiting innovation and investment in AI research. The paper ends with an interpretive multi-layer approach and specific legislative adjustments to bring Indian patent law into line with the realities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution without losing the spirit of the patent system.
Keywords: Section 3(k), Patents Act 1970, AI-Generated Inventions, Technical Effect, DABUS, Patent Eligibility, India.
