Jan. 30 (UPI) — Artwork generated by artificial intelligence must have a human contributor to earn copyright protection in the United States, the U.S. Copyright Office has determined.
The Copyright Office’s 52-page January “Report of the Register of Copyrights” addresses the “copyrightability of works created using generative AI” and follows up on the office’s prior report on digital replicas of an individual’s voice or appearance.
“After considering the extensive public comments and the current state of technological development, our conclusions turn on the centrality of human creativity to copyright,” said Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office, in a news release provided to UPI.
“Where that creativity is expressed through the use of AI systems, it continues to enjoy protection,” Perlmutter said.
“Extending protection to material whose expressive elements are determined by a machine, however, would undermine rather than further the constitutional goals of copyright.”
The January report was released on Wednesday and says existing law adequately resolves questions of copyright protection for AI-generated outputs on a case-by-case basis.
“Copyright law has long adapted to new technology and can enable case-by-case determinations as to whether AI-generated outputs reflect sufficient human contribution to warrant copyright protection,” the report says.
“In many circumstances these outputs will be copyrightable in whole or in part where AI is used as a tool and where a human has been able to determine the expressive elements they contain.”
The use of AI prompts to generate new content does not qualify for copyright protection of AI-generated works of art, though.
Ultimately, if a human doesn’t provide significant input, an AI-generated product does not qualify as intellectual property that needs copyright protection, Mashable reported.
People who use generative AI tools by inputting text prompts are not going to obtain AI-generated art that they can protect by applying for a legally enforceable copyright, The Verge reported.
Copyright Office officials will continue to assist the public regarding copyright protection of AI-generate art and will issue new copyright registration guidance and update its practices and regulation as judicial developments, anecdotal evidence and other relevant input require.
The Copyright Office’s regulatory report on AI-generated art and when it might qualify for copyright protection comes as AI continues to evolve and grow its capabilities.
The report is the product of the Copyright Office’s ongoing AI initiative.