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ARTICLE · 24 AUGUST 2023

US Court Refuses Copyright Registration For AI-Generated Art

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Dr Thaler's latest attempt to obtain IP protection for "creations" of his AI system has failed, with a US Court rejecting copyright protection for an AI-generated artwork.

GlobalIntellectual Property
Rachel Montagnon
Rachel Montagnon
Aaron Hayward
Aaron Hayward
Heather Newton
Heather Newton
Anna Vandervliet
Anna Vandervliet
Byron Turner
Byron Turner

Dr Thaler's latest attempt to obtain IP protection for "creations" of his AI system has failed, with a US Court rejecting copyright protection for an AI-generated artwork.

Background: Dr Thaler, DABUS and the Creativity Machine

Dr Thaler has become well-known as the owner of the DABUS AI which he has been seeking to have identified as the inventor of a patent at multiple patent offices around the world. So far he has done so without much success, although he is currently awaiting the outcome of an appeal in the UK Supreme Court.

Dr Thaler also owns an AI system he calls the "Creativity Machine" which generates art, he claims, of its own accord. In his latest foray into the world of IP registration, Dr Thaler sought to obtain copyright registration in the US for an artwork entitled "A Recent Entrance to Paradise", which he claimed was generated by the Creativity Machine.

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