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Copyright Office Denies AI Art Copyright Protection, Despite Precedent for Photographs

  • In recent months, the US Copyright Office has ruled that AI-generated art is not eligible for copyright protection.

  • This echoes a 2019 ruling rejecting a copyright application for an AI-generated image.

  • In the 1880s, courts had to decide if photographs qualified for copyright. Ultimately the Supreme Court said photos reflect creative choices and can be copyrighted.

  • But the Copyright Office is reading this precedent too narrowly. Many photographic practices qualify for copyright even if they involve minimal creativity.

  • So the Copyright Office's stance on AI art seems hard to square with how copyright law treats photography.

arstechnica.com
Relevant topic timeline:
The main topic of the article is the backlash against AI companies that use unauthorized creative work to train their models. Key points: 1. The controversy surrounding Prosecraft, a linguistic analysis site that used scraped data from pirated books without permission. 2. The debate over fair use and copyright infringement in relation to AI projects. 3. The growing concern among writers and artists about the use of generative AI tools to replace human creative work and the push for individual control over how their work is used.
Main topic: Copyright protection for works created by artificial intelligence (AI) Key points: 1. A federal judge upheld a finding from the U.S. Copyright Office that AI-generated art is not eligible for copyright protection. 2. The ruling emphasized that human authorship is a fundamental requirement for copyright protection. 3. The judge stated that copyright law protects only works of human creation and is not designed to extend to non-human actors like AI.
Main topic: Copyright concerns and potential lawsuits surrounding generative AI tools. Key points: 1. The New York Times may sue OpenAI for allegedly using its copyrighted content without permission or compensation. 2. Getty Images previously sued Stability AI for using its photos without a license to train its AI system. 3. OpenAI has begun acknowledging copyright issues and signed an agreement with the Associated Press to license its news archive.
### Summary A US court ruled that creative work made by artificial intelligence is ineligible for copyright, a significant ruling amid the ongoing Hollywood writer's strike. ### Facts - 🤖 Artificial intelligence-generated art cannot be protected by copyright, according to a US federal judge. - 📜 The ruling may codify intellectual property rights regarding creative works made by AI versus those made by humans. - ⚖️ The ruling was made by US District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell and supported by the register of copyrights and director of the US Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter. - ⚠️ The significance of the ruling comes amid ongoing writers' and actors' strikes in Hollywood, as there are fears that studios will use AI-generated work to avoid paying writers and actors. - 🧠 The plaintiff, Stephen Thaler, argued that his AI, the "Creativity Machine," should be recognized as the author of a piece of artwork, but the US Copyright Office denied the application. - 📚 The ruling also clarifies that the copyright for AI-generated work cannot be claimed by the AI's users under the work-for-hire doctrine. ### How does this relate to Hollywood and AI? - 🎥 The ruling has implications for Hollywood's use of AI-generated content and the ongoing concerns of writers' and actors' unions. - 💡 The question of copyrightability for works made by AI has become increasingly relevant as generative AI becomes more prevalent globally. - 💰 Entertainment and media companies are investing significantly in generative AI and may become global leaders in the field. - 🌐 By 2025, it is projected that 90% of all content may be partly AI-generated.
### Summary A federal judge ruled that AI-generated art cannot be copyrighted, which could impact Hollywood studios and their use of AI. ### Facts - 🤖 Plaintiff Stephen Thaler sued the US Copyright Office to have his AI system recognized as the creator of an artwork. - 🚫 US District Judge Beryl Howell upheld the Copyright Office's decision to reject Thaler's copyright application. - 📜 Howell stated that human authorship is a fundamental requirement for copyright and cited the "monkey selfie" case as an example. - ❓ How much human input is needed for AI-generated works to qualify as authored by a human will be a question for future cases. - ⚖️ Hollywood studios may face challenges in their contract disputes with striking actors and writers, as AI-generated works may not receive copyright protection.
The use of copyrighted works to train generative AI models, such as Meta's LLaMA, is raising concerns about copyright infringement and transparency, with potential legal consequences and a looming "day of reckoning" for the datasets used.
Generative AI is starting to impact the animation and visual effects industry, with companies like Base Media exploring its potentials, but concerns about job security and copyright infringement remain.
Three artists, including concept artist Karla Ortiz, are suing AI art generators Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt for using their work to train generative AI systems without their consent, in a case that could test the boundaries of copyright law and impact the way AI systems are built. The artists argue that feeding copyrighted works into AI systems constitutes intellectual property theft, while AI companies claim fair use protection. The outcome could determine the legality of training large language models on copyrighted material.
A federal judge has ruled that works created by artificial intelligence (A.I.) are not covered by copyrights, stating that copyright law is designed to incentivize human creativity, not non-human actors. This ruling has implications for the future role of A.I. in the music industry and the monetization of works created by A.I. tools.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has proposed guidelines for the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and data transparency in the entertainment industry, stating that AI-created material cannot be considered literary or intellectually protected, and ensuring that credit, rights, and compensation for AI-generated scripts are given to the original human writer or reworker.
Hollywood studios are considering the use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to assist in screenwriting, but concerns remain regarding copyright protection for works solely created by AI, as they currently are not copyrightable.
A federal judge rejected an inventor's attempt to copyright an artwork generated by artificial intelligence, sparking a broader legal discussion on authorship and intellectual property rights.
Artificial intelligence (A.I.) may not pose a significant threat to human creativity or intellectual property, as machines still struggle to produce groundbreaking artistic work and are often limited to mimicry rather than true artistic expression.
A Washington D.C. judge has ruled that AI-generated art should not be awarded copyright protections since no humans played a central role in its creation, establishing a precedent that art should require human authorship; YouTube has partnered with Universal Music Group to launch an AI music incubator to protect artists from unauthorized use of their content; Meta has introduced an automated translator that works for multiple languages, but concerns have been raised regarding the impact it may have on individuals who wish to learn multiple languages; major studios are hiring "AI specialists" amidst a writers' strike, potentially leading to a future of automated entertainment that may not meet audience expectations.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as a tool that can inspire and collaborate with human creatives in the movie and TV industry, but concerns remain about copyright and ethical issues, according to Greg Harrison, chief creative officer at MOCEAN. Although AI has potential for visual brainstorming and automation of non-creative tasks, it should be used cautiously and in a way that values human creativity and culture.
The United States Copyright Office has issued a notice of inquiry seeking public comment on copyright and artificial intelligence (AI), specifically on issues related to the content AI produces and how it should be treated when it imitates or mimics human artists.
“A Recent Entrance to Paradise” is a pixelated artwork created by an artificial intelligence called DABUS in 2012. However, its inventor, Stephen Thaler, has been denied copyright for the work by a judge in the US. This decision has sparked a series of legal battles in different countries, as Thaler believes that DABUS, his AI system, is sentient and should be recognized as an inventor. These lawsuits raise important questions about intellectual property and the rights of AI systems. While Thaler's main supporter argues that machine inventions should be protected to encourage social good, Thaler himself sees these cases as a way to raise awareness about the existence of a new species. The debate revolves around whether AI systems can be considered creators and should be granted copyright and patent rights. Some argue that copyright requires human authorship, while others believe that intellectual property rights should be granted regardless of the involvement of a human inventor or author. The outcome of these legal battles could have significant implications for the future of AI-generated content and the definition of authorship.
Dezeen, an online architecture and design resource, has outlined its policy on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in text and image generation, stating that while they embrace new technology, they do not publish stories that use AI-generated text unless it is focused on AI and clearly labeled as such, and they favor publishing human-authored illustrations over AI-generated images.
AI researcher Stephen Thaler argues that his AI creation, DABUS, should be able to hold copyright for its creations, but legal experts and courts have rejected the idea, stating that copyright requires human authorship.
AI-generated images in Copy Magazine reveal the uncanny perfection of fashion photography and serve as a warning to break free from repeating past styles, prompting questions about ethics and copyright in AI image generation.
An award-winning image generated by artificial intelligence has been ruled as not protected by U.S. copyright because it was not created by humans, according to a review panel.
The debate over whether government-imposed limits on AI computation would implicate the First Amendment arises as artists and creators are starting to explore the potential of AI in their work, and the question of whether there is a First Amendment right to compute becomes increasingly relevant in the context of expressive content generated by AI.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to disrupt the creative industry, with concerns raised about AI-generated models, music, and other creative works competing with human artists, leading to calls for regulation and new solutions to protect creators.
Getty Images has developed an AI tool that respects artists' copyrights by training it exclusively on licensed data, ensuring creators are rewarded as the tool grows in popularity over time.
The promotional poster for the second season of Loki has raised controversy among designers who suspect it was created, at least in part, using generative AI, fueling concerns about the potential replacement of human artists with AI image generators.
Computer-generated art, powered by artificial intelligence, has seen a recent boom, with works like "Edmond de Belamy" selling for over $400,000 and databases of digitized human creativity enabling the production of millions of unique images daily; however, opinions on AI-generated art are mixed, with critics arguing for copyright protection and a survey revealing that the majority of Americans do not consider it a major advancement.
Google is introducing a new policy to defend users of its generative AI systems on Google Cloud and Workspace platforms against intellectual property violation claims, covering both the use of copyrighted works for training AI and the output generated by the systems.
Generative AI systems, trained on copyrighted material scraped from the internet, are facing lawsuits from artists and writers concerned about copyright infringement and privacy violations. The lack of transparency regarding data sources also raises concerns about data bias in AI models. Protecting data from AI is challenging, with limited tools available, and removing copyrighted or sensitive information from AI models would require costly retraining. Companies currently have little incentive to address these issues due to the absence of AI policies or legal rulings.