AI creations edited by humans can likely be copyrighted in US, agency says

In the U.S., AI-generated creations — books, movies, and so forth — that have been edited by a human can likely be copyrighted, but those without any human modifications or additions cannot.

That’s according to a report published by the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) on Wednesday, which outlined scenarios in which AI-generated content might be eligible for IP protections. Per the guidelines, a movie production house, for example, could copyright a film in which they used an AI tool to “de-age” actors or remove objects from a scene.

Prompts alone (e.g. “a sketch of a flower in springtime”) don’t usually produce works that can be copyrighted. But the USCO made clear in its report that copyright must be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The agency has yet to rule whether AI systems making “expressive,” independent artistic choices can produce copyrightable works. It plans to address this in a follow-up report due out in the coming months.

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