Content generated by artificial intelligence – inclusive AI writers such as ChatGPT and image generation tools such as DALL-E 2 – can now be copyrighted if they meet certain criteria, according to the US Copyright Office.
So far, the Copyright Office has only considered human-generated work for copyright applications, but in a shocking turn of events, it will now consider AI-generated content as long as a significant portion of the work is also performed by a human.
In a policy statement (opens in new tab) published earlier this month, the Bureau’s director, Shira Perlmutter, wrote: “In the case of works containing AI-generated material, the Bureau will consider whether the AI contributions are the result of ‘mechanical reproduction’ or rather than the ‘an author’s own original mental conception’. , to which [the author] gave visible shape.'”
Copyrighted AI material
Perlmutter describes that the analysis would be on a case-by-case basis to assess whether the human is the real author of the content.
An example of a rejected application would be an AI writer receiving a prompt and generating new “complex written, visual, or musical” content. On the other hand, “sufficient human authorship” can result in the acceptance of a copyright application. This can be the creative arrangement of AI-generated content or further editing where AI content is merely viewed as a template for further work.
The truth is that the world will continue to struggle logistically, legally and ethically with AI as interest in the technology continues to grow, and it is likely that processes such as copyright will continue to be scrutinized as further developments take place.
To help distinguish AI from human-generated content, there have been discussions about watermarking by machines, but so far that has proven tricky.