Recently, a big decision came from the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO): they said AI-created stuff doesn’t meet the rules for being considered the “author” under U.S. Copyright law. This happened because of a case where someone said their AI-made work deserved copyright protection.
During 2023, there’ve been around twelve legal fights about whether AI-made things can be protected by copyright. Most of the argument is about the data used to train the AI and how that connects to what it creates.
These lawsuits involve big players like Getty Images, OpenAI, and more. They’re trying to figure out if AI-made stuff should be treated like human-made stuff when it comes to copyright.
Even The New York Times changed its rules recently. They don’t want their stuff used to teach AI anymore. They’re worried about how AI-made stuff might mess up copyright laws.
One case is about Dr. Thaler and his AI system, “Creativity Machine.” He believes his AI-made thing, “A Recent Entrance to Paradise,” should get copyright protection. But the Copyright Office and the court don’t agree.
The question is whether AI-made things should count as something made by a human for copyright. The rules we have now don’t really talk about AI. This case could change that.
Some folks say we should use the Turing Test to decide. This test checks if a machine’s creation is as good as a human’s. Some past legal cases about weird stuff (like things made by spirits and monkeys) might help decide too.
Dr. Thaler’s case also brings up a question: Can we treat AI like it’s doing a job for us? Even if AI isn’t a person, some say it should still get similar rights.
One issue is that we don’t really know if AI helped make something. The people using AI might not say they used it. This makes things tricky and shows we need clear rules.
This debate is important because it shapes how AI-made stuff gets protected. These lawsuits will decide if AI-made things can be copyrighted like human-made stuff. As technology gets bigger, we need clear rules for who gets to own what.