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ARTICLE · 12 OCTOBER 2023

U.S. Court Holds That AI Generated Works Cannot Be Copyrighted: Implications For AI Generated Works In Canada

Miller Thomson
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The District Court agreed with the Copyright Office and found that human involvement is a requirement for copyright protection.

CanadaIntellectual Property
David Schnurr
David Schnurr
Jayme Millar
Jayme Millar
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Case Summary: Thaler v Perlmutter

In a decision rendered on August 18, 2023 in the case of Thaler v. Perlmutter ("Thaler"), the U.S. District Court (for the District of Columbia) held that the U.S. Copyright Act requires human authorship and therefore only protects works of human creation.1

In Thaler, the Plaintiff, Stephen Thaler used a generative Artificial Intelligence ("AI") system (the "Creativity Machine") to autonomously create a piece of artwork entitled "A Recent Entrance to Paradise" (the "Art"). In registering the Art for copyright, Dr. Thaler listed the author as the Creativity Machine and asked for the copyright to be transferred to him as he is the owner of the Creativity Machine.2 This application was denied by the Copyright Office on the basis of the Copyright Office's position that human authorship is a prerequisite for valid copyright.3 Dr. Thaler then sued the Copyright Office and Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights and Director of

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