AI Works Not Eligible for Copyright Registration

artificial intelligence authorship copyright technology

Consistency in intellectual property regimes is essential for a uniform practice of those intellectual property laws. Case in point is Thaler v. Perlmutter, a copyright case holding that works created by artificial intelligence software is not a human author for purposes of the Copyright Act of 1976 (See 17 U.S.C. §102(a) (“Copyright protection subsists . …

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Notes on Copyright Registration of AI-Assisted Works

artificial intelligence authorship copyright technology

On January 31, 2025, the U.S. Copyright Office issued examination guidelines related to registration of works either assisted or generated by artificial intelligence tools. This blog discussed these guidelines in an earlier post. While there has been much angst as to the guidelines’ impact on creative endeavors involving AI-assisted works, it appears there are some …

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Copyright Office’s Registration AI Guidance

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The U.S. Copyright Office issued its second report on issues related to registration of works using artificial intelligence (AI). The second report, issued on January 29, 2025, discusses copyrightability and application-related issues. The Copyright Office’s analysis of the legal framework is not surprising given the fairly well-settled nature of the case law landscape. The constitutional …

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No Fair Use for Internet Archive’s Digital Library

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On September 4, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Hachette Book Group, Inc. v. Internet Archive, denying the online digital repository’s ability to copy and distribute copyright-protected works for free, and without permission, to the general public. Internet Archive creates digital copies of print works for posting on its site, making …

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Ninth Circuit: No SHIFT+DELETE for Server Test

copyright Fair Use technology

The issues where technology and intellectual property laws collide were discussed in the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Hunley v. Instagram, LLC,[1] decided on July 17, 2023. In Hunley, the Ninth Circuit re-affirmed the so-called Server Test limiting liability for copyright infringement. Facts Plaintiffs Alexis Hunley and Matthew Brauer both posted their photographic works on their …

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Limitations on Transformative Use: SCOTUS Finds Nothing Transformative in Warhol’s Use of Goldsmith’s Prince Photo

copyright Fair Use originality scotus watch

Reviewing the last U.S. Supreme Court 2022 term, the highest court decided several high-profile cases involving intellectual property rights.  The keyword among these cases is “limitation.”  There are limitations on the breadth of particular areas of IP law.  These limitations will affect the IP holder’s rights, as well as those who are infringing those rights.  …

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U.S. Copyright Office Clarifies Registration of AI-Created Works

authorship copyright technology

In order to clarify policy-related issues involving artificial intelligence and the copyright law issue of authorship, the U.S. Copyright Office, on March 16, 2023, commenced an AI initiative.  Included in this initiative was new registration guidance (to be codified as 37 C.F.R. §202) aimed at assisting practitioners and industry members on protection of creative works …

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Copyright Office Partially Cancels AI-Created Work

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On February 21, 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office issued an unusual ruling partially cancelling the copyright registration originally issued in September 2022, essentially cancelling any part of the work made by an AI machine.  A new registration will be re-issued as to the portions in which the human authorship was confirmed, including the selection, coordination, …

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