Is AI-generated code patentable?
Short answer: Yes, in many cases — but only when a human inventor conceived the claimed invention and can prove it. AI cannot be named as an inventor on a U.S. patent application.
Developers using Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude, or ChatGPT often ask whether AI-written code is automatically unpatentable. The USPTO’s position is narrower: who invented matters more than which tool typed the characters.
What the USPTO requires
Every patent application must name human inventors who contributed to the conception of the invention. Conception is the mental formation of the complete invention — not mere reduction to practice or typing speed.
If AI suggested ten implementations and you selected, modified, benchmarked, and combined them to solve a specific technical problem you identified first, you may have a documentable human contribution. If you pasted a prompt and filed whatever came back unchanged, you likely do not.
What to document
- The technical problem you identified before prompting AI
- AI outputs you rejected and why
- Parameters, thresholds, or architectures you chose based on measurement
- Dated commits, lab notes, or design docs showing your direction
How Patent PreCheck helps
Our human conception strength score estimates how well your code and disclosure reflect human-directed invention vs. generic AI patterns. The Interactive Code Review coaches pillar-specific edits that strengthen documentation before you meet counsel.
Run a free score on your code or read Can my code be patented?