Insights

“AI Artwork and The Thaler Copyright Roadblock”

October 12, 2023
Law360

In an article published in Law360 on October 12, 2023, Partner Matthew Carey discusses the recent ruling by a federal judge in the Thaler v. Perlmutter case, which has thrown a significant hurdle in the path of artificial intelligence-generated art seeking copyright protection.

The judge upheld the U.S. Copyright Office's decision to deny registration to an artificial intelligence (AI) system, known as the "Creativity Machine," as the sole author of a computer-generated artwork.

“By siding with the Copyright Office in defending the necessity of human authorship, the judge's opinion casts serious doubts on the prospects for granting full copyright protections to the output of today's exponentially advancing AI systems,” Carey writes.

He goes on to address what this ruling means for the future of creative AI including the uncertainty of copyrightability of AI artworks, limitations of AI contributions artists may impose on their works, and the reduction of AI investment incentives. Carey also explores guidance as to how attorneys should advise their clients in light of this decision.

Carey’s complete article can be read here.

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