Images generated by giving text prompts to current generative AI models such as and are not copyrightable in the United States. This is because, according to the United States Copyright Office (USCO), such prompts are equated with the purchaser giving instructions to the requested artist. “While the prompter identifies what it wants to portray, the machine determines how those instructions are implemented in the output,” he wrote USCO. It was published in the Federal Register.
“When an AI technology receives only prompts from humans and generates complex written, visual, or musical works in response, the ‘traditional elements of authorship’ are determined and determined by the technology, not the human user.” It will be done,” said the office.
Note that the level of human creativity involved in a work is an important consideration regarding whether to grant copyright protection. It was suggested that current AI models cannot generate copyrighted works. USCO states, “Based on the Secretariat’s understanding of currently available generative AI technologies, users exercise ultimate creative control over how such systems interpret prompts and generate material.” No,” he said. “It is well established that the Copyright Office’s view is that only material that is the product of human creativity can be protected by copyright.”
With respect to works containing AI-generated material, USCO will indicate whether the model’s contribution to the work is the result of “mechanical replication” (i.e., generated in response to text prompts) or whether the author’s ” Find out if it represents “original expression”. spiritual concept. Current rules state that USCO “does not register works created by machines or mere mechanical processes acting randomly or automatically, without the creative input or intervention of a human author.”
However, the office has left the door open to allowing copyright protection to manipulate AI-generated elements. “The answer depends on the circumstances, especially how the AI tools behaved and were used to create the final work,” he said. “This is necessarily a case-by-case investigation. If the traditional authorship element of a work is machine-generated, the work lacks a human authorship and the Secretariat will not register it. ”
USCO last month Images produced by Midjourney and used in graphic novels are not copyrighted.However, Chris Kashtanova’s text and layout is Dawn of Zarya You can get copyright protection. The office said there was too much “distance” between Kashtanova’s input and Midjourney’s output for the images to be copyrightable.Kashtanova’s lawyer By focusing on outputs rather than inputs, it argued, the authorities “applied the wrong legal standards.”
On the other hand, USCO In response to requests from Congress and the general public, further explore copyright law and policy issues related to AI. There will be several panel discussions on this topic in April and May. The Secretariat plans to seek public comment later this year on a range of copyright issues related to the use of AI.
