Abstract: The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT marks a new stage of development of AI technology, bringing automatic generation of invention back to the forefront. The traditional inventor system, which regards an inventor as a natural person, denies the inventor qualification of AI, which will lead to the integrity crisis of patent applications and the proliferation of low-quality patents generated by AI. In the era of generative AI, inventor qualifications, patent ownership rules, patent examination standards and the principle of honesty will be challenged to some extent. The reform of the inventor system is urgently needed to respond to the collective nature of modern invention and the needs of the AI industry, to motivate investment in innovation, to promote technological disclosure, and to uphold the principle of honesty. The reform should shift from motivating inventors to motivating investment in terms of concept; in terms of form, it should introduce guidelines for AI authorship to honestly indicate the contribution of AI to the creation of invention; and in terms of practice, it should formulate guidelines for the examination of AI-independent invention, and scientifically build an examination system exclusive to AI-independent invention.

Key words: generative artificial intelligence, inventor, ChatGPT, DABUS