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ARTICLE · 04 FEBRUARY 2025

U.S. Copyright Office: AI Prompts Alone Provide Insufficient Control Over Expression To Protect AI-Generated Content

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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On January 29, 2025, the U.S. Copyright Office issued the second part of its much-anticipated policy report concerning copyright and artificial intelligence (AI).

United StatesIntellectual Property
Anna B. Chauvet
Anna B. Chauvet
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On January 29, 2025, the U.S. Copyright Office issued the second part of its much-anticipated policy report concerning copyright and artificial intelligence (AI). This section concerns the copyrightability of AI-generated outputs. Overall, the Copyright Office found that questions of copyrightability and AI can be resolved pursuant to existing law and that no legislative changes are necessary.

The Copyright Office reiterated its longstanding position that human authorship is an essential requirement for copyright protection in the United States. According to the Copyright Office, while copyright does not extend to purely AI-generated material, outputs of generative AI can be protected by copyright where a human author has sufficient control over the "expressive elements." The Copyright Office stated that it will determine whether human contributions to AI-generated outputs are sufficient to constitute authorship on a case-by-case basis. It did, however, provide the

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