The U.S. Copyright Office has rejected two AI-generated image copyright applications, marking the first time such a decision has been made. The implication is that the graphic artist who received the first known U.S. copyright registration for AI-generated artwork last year has lost copyright protection for these images.
However, because the images were created by an AI program with no human involvement in the creative process, the Copyright Office ruled that they could not be considered original works of authorship and thus did not qualify for copyright protection.
The United States Copyright Office has reconsidered the copyright protection granted to Kris Kashtanova in September for her comic book Zarya of the Dawn, which includes images created by AI image generator Midjourney.
According to a letter sent to Kashtanova’s attorney, the graphic artist has copyright to the parts of the book she wrote and arranged but not to the individual AI-generated images. The images in the Work created by the Midjourney technology are not the work of human authors and should not have been granted copyright protection.
The decision is being viewed as a litmus test for the legal status of AI-generated works, which are becoming more common in fields such as art, music, and literature. The ruling could have serious ramifications for artists and businesses that use AI to create works, as it could mean they won’t be able to claim ownership or prevent others from reproducing them.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
