AI-created art not protected by copyright law, new ruling finds

Amid a churning AI market and increasing anxiety about the role of AI in the creation of works of art, the U.S. government has set a strong benchmark: If a human isn’t involved, it’s not worth legal protections.

U.S. Copyright Office Rules on AI and Copyright
The U.S. Copyright Office has determined that unedited outputs of generative AI tools do not qualify for federal copyright protection. Works involving generative AI are eligible for copyright only if a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements.

Implications for AI Art and Copyright
The decision by the U.S. Copyright Office means that images or videos created by tools like Midjourney or OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 cannot be copyrighted by their individual generators if a human has not been creatively involved. The report also discusses the unpredictability of generative AI outputs and the limitations of copyright protection for AI-generated material.