The U.S. Copyright Office has released part two of its report on AI and copyright, specifically addressing the copyrightability of generative AI outputs. The report makes several important determinations.
AI Content Must Have Human Input for Copyright Protection
The Office maintains that existing copyright law is sufficiently adaptable to handle AI technology, just as it has accommodated other technological innovations. The key finding is that AI-generated content can only receive copyright protection when there is meaningful human creative input in determining the expressive elements.
Copyright protection can apply in two main scenarios:
- When a human-authored work is clearly identifiable in the AI output
- When humans make creative modifications or arrangements to AI-generated content
AI Prompts Cannot Be Copyrighted
The Office clarifies that merely providing prompts to an AI system does not qualify for copyright protection. However, using AI as an assistive tool in the creative process or incorporating AI-generated elements into a larger human-created work does not disqualify the work from copyright protection.
Human Creativity is Central to Copyright Law
Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter emphasized that human creativity remains central to copyright law, and while human creativity expressed through AI systems maintains protection, purely machine-determined expressive elements would not serve copyright’s constitutional purposes.
AI Copyright Guidance Follows Long Evaluation
This guidance follows a comprehensive process that began in early 2023, involving:
- Publishing registration guidance for AI-incorporated works
- Conducting public listening sessions and webinars
- Consulting with experts and stakeholders
- Issuing a public notice of inquiry
- Reviewing over 10,000 public comments
The Office concluded that there is currently no compelling reason to modify existing copyright law to provide additional protection for AI-generated outputs.