Scientist Sues US Copyright Office For Denying His AI-Created Artwork Protection

The United States Copyright Office (USCO) continues to navigate the murky waters with regard to artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property, having made a decision at the end of last year to reverse awarding of copyright protection to non-manmade works. 

Recently, Stephen Thaler, a computer scientist, has taken issue with the agency’s stance, filing a lawsuit against it over its refusal to grant protection to the artwork he created using an AI system he had personally built. 

The piece in question, entitled A Recent Entrance to Paradise (which you can view here), was generated in 2012 by DABUS, an AI program developed by the researcher, who helms Imagination Engines Incorporated, an advanced artificial natural network company. 

According to Artnet News, Thaler first applied to register the artwork with the copyright office in 2018, putting down DABUS as the author of the piece, and clearly stating it had been “created autonomously by machine.” 

Due to its rules against protecting AI-created works, the organization refused the application, citing that “human authorship” was necessary to support a copyright claim. Similar filings in September 2019, May 2020, and February 2022 were rejected. 

The scientist argues his painting satisfies the requirements as stipulated in the Copyright Act, as he was the one who “invested and owns the original property [DABUS]” and all of its output, even when it is used in a work-for-hire scenario. 

In addition, Thaler’s lawsuit points out the USCO did not specify if its need for “human authorship” referred to the actual authorship of the work, or the originality behind the idea. Though, either way, it posits that the artwork meets both demands. 

“The Work ‘owes its origin’ to the Creativity Machine [DABUS] and was a ‘product of the independent efforts of the author’, which is the small hurdle required to reach copyrightability,” the motion put forth. 

It’s hardly surprising there’s a growing push for copyright protection to be extended to AI-created works, seeing as the technology has hit the mainstream. In fact, the US Supreme Court previously agreed that “technological changes” should be incorporated when interpreting the Act. 

As the case proceeds, content creators all over the country will have their eyes peeled, as the outcome could “have a significant impact” on the use and progress of how AI is used creatively in the United States. 

[via Artnet News and Reuters, cover image via Nikolai Sorokin | Dreamstime.com]