US court finds that work created autonomously by AI does not enjoy copyright protection

US court finds that work created autonomously by AI does not enjoy copyright protection

A recent court ruling in the United States (US) has raised questions about copyright protection for works generated by artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The ruling, handed down in the federal court for the District of Columbia, held that due to the absence of human authorship, the work, called “A Recent Entrance to Paradise”, could not be protected by US copyright law.

The case involves an image generated by an AI system called Creativity Machine, owned by Stephen Thaler. Before the US Copyright Office, Thaler claimed that the Creativity Machine system was the author of the work and designated it as autonomously created by the AI, with ownership transferred to him, the creator of the machine. The law firm denied the claim, stating that the law requires human authorship.

Stephen Thaler challenged the decision in court, but the initial ruling was upheld. Among the arguments made by the court, it was emphasized that human authorship is fundamental to the protection of the US Copyright Act.

In addition, the US court elaborated that AI systems do not require copyright incentives, as they operate by algorithms and do not need protection under this legislation. The decision concluded that “in the absence of any human involvement in the creation of the work, the clear and straightforward answer is the one given by the Copyright Office: No”.

The present dispute dealt with a work created entirely by AI, but often humans and machines collaborate in the creative process. The involvement can be minimal, and this decision shows that courts will need to define what constitutes human authorship in these cases. As AI becomes more advanced and autonomous in generating creative works, more debates about copyright protection will arise.

The decision can be accessed via the link: https://cdn.patentlyo.com/media/2023/08/THALER-v.-PERLMUTTER-et-al-Docket-No.-1_22-cv-01564-D.D.C.-Jun-02-2022-Court-Docket-1.pdf

Note: For quick release and cost control, this English version is provided by automated translation without human review.