University of Tennessee Sues Anthropic Over AI Patents
The research arm of the University of Tennessee has sued artificial-intelligence giant Anthropic in a Delaware federal court. The university alleges that Anthropic has infringed on its patents related to neural networks.
The complaint, filed by the University of Tennessee Research Foundation on Monday and made public on Tuesday, claims that Anthropic's AI systems violate the university's patents on machine-learning technology inspired by neuroscience.
A Landmark Patent Dispute
This lawsuit is believed to be the first patent infringement case brought against Anthropic. It arrives shortly after a California federal judge approved a landmark $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and a group of authors in a class-action copyright lawsuit concerning the use of their work to train AI.
The university explicitly highlighted this recent case in its complaint, stating, "Anthropic’s cavalier approach to others’ intellectual property rights in the development of its products extends beyond the use of copyrighted material".
Spokespeople for both Anthropic and the university did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit.
Defending Neuroscience-Inspired Innovation
The Knoxville, Tennessee-based school argues that Anthropic's systems infringe upon two specific patents invented by its professors. These patents cover "significant contributions to the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, neuromorphic computing, and neuroscience-inspired computing".
To address the alleged violations, the university has asked the court for the following remedies:
An unspecified amount of monetary damages.
An order blocking Anthropic from further infringing on its patents.