AI-Generated Art Still Not Copyrightable, Appeals Court Rules
The legal battle over whether artificial intelligence can be recognized as the author of copyrighted works has once again concluded in a familiar place: with a definitive “no.” The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling, solidifying the requirement for human authorship in copyright law.
The case centers around computer scientist Stephen Thaler and his “Creativity Machine,” a machine-learning system. Thaler sought copyright protection for an image titled “A Recent Entrance to Paradise,” which was purportedly created by the AI. The US Copyright Office denied the application.
Thaler’s arguments centered on whether a machine could produce work indistinguishable from that of a human, thus deserving copyright protection. The Copyright Office reiterated the need for human involvement, a stance the courts ultimately agreed with. Judge Beryl Howell, in the lower court’s memorandum opinion, stated that copyrighted works require an author and only human authors have been recognized under US law.
In 2022, Thaler took the battle to court. The US District Court for the District of Columbia sided with the Copyright Office. In November 2023, Thaler appealed, but the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has now affirmed the decision of the District Court.
“We affirm the denial of Dr. Thaler’s copyright application,” the appellate decision states. “The Creativity Machine cannot be the recognized author of a copyrighted work because the Copyright Act of 1976 requires all eligible work to be authored in the first instance by a human being.”
The court acknowledged that works created by a person using AI can be copyrighted, though the ruling didn’t define how much human input constitutes sufficient authorship.
Thaler’s attorney, Ryan Abbott, said that they intend to appeal the decision, arguing that the Copyright Office has engaged in “extra-statutory policy making.” If they proceed, the legal fight is not over.
Another parallel legal argument surrounds the famous monkey selfie case in the US appeals courts. That situation also deals with copyright as it relates to non-human actors.
