Can an AI system be named as an inventor in India?

The Act contemplates a natural person. "True and first inventor" is defined in Section 2(1)(y), and the framework of Sections 6 and 28 assumes a human inventor capable of holding and assigning rights. Applications naming an AI system as the sole inventor have not been accepted by the Indian Patent Office, and there is no Indian judicial decision displacing that position.

Inventions made using AI tools are a separate matter and are patentable in the ordinary way, provided a natural person can properly be named as the inventor. Where AI tools have been used substantially in the inventive process, it is worth documenting the human contribution contemporaneously.