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AI News Roundup – Musk sues OpenAI, Figure AI creates humanoid robots and more

To help you stay on top of the latest news, our AI practice group has compiled a roundup of the developments we are following.

- Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California (San Francisco) against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman for straying away from the company’s nonprofit roots. The complaint alleges that OpenAI has breached its founding agreement between Musk, Altman, and Brockman by partnering with Microsoft to form a “closed-source de facto subsidiary.” The suit seeks to force OpenAI to “return to its mission to develop AGI [Artificial General Intelligence] for the benefit of humanity.”

- Human-like robots with artificial intelligence (AI) for “brains?” Figure AI, a Silicon Valley startup making humanoid robots, has announced a $625 million funding round from a venture capital group that includes Microsoft/OpenAI, Nvidia and Jeff Bezos. The company’s Figure 01 robot is 5’6,” walks with two legs, has five hours of runtime and is intended to do manual labor tasks that currently rely on humans, all by using onboard AI systems. Figure AI states that its robots are designed to do the jobs that people don’t want or don’t have the skills for, and that they will eventually tackle more advanced tasks, such as caring for the elderly or cooking meals.

- New startup Bench IQ promises to help lawyers understand the reasoning and proclivities of individual judges. The company plans to use large language models to provide “comprehensive insights into the decision-making patterns of judges, covering 100% of their rulings.” Bench IQ has raised $2.1 million in funding from venture capital and several large law firms.

- Brazilian lawmaker Antônio Luiz Rodrigues Mano Júnior has introduced a bill to amend Brazil’s IP statute to allow AI systems to be inventors on patent applications. The legislation is a little light on details regarding what entity would own the applications or patents that issue therefrom. So far most countries that have considered the issue of AI inventorship have come down against the concept based on historical or policy reasons.

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About the Authors

Michael S. Borella

Michael S. Borella is Co-Chair of MBHB’s Artificial Intelligence Practice Group and Chair of the firm’s Software and Business Methods Practice Group. Dr. Borella leverages his knowledge of complex software to help his clients – from individual inventors and global technology companies – solve intellectual property challenges and build and manage patent portfolios. Dr. Borella is a named inventor on more than 70 U.S. patent applications and has drafted or been involved in the prosecution of hundreds of patents in the U.S. and around the world. Clients also seek Dr. Borella’s counsel on patent eligibility, validity, infringement, patentability analyses and litigation matters.

Aaron V. Gin

With deep expertise in electrical engineering and computer science, Aaron Gin, Ph.D., helps clients secure intellectual property rights for their innovative technologies. Dr. Gin prepares and prosecutes U.S. and foreign applications for patents and trademarks. He also advises clients on patent validity, infringement, and patentability.

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