U.S. Copyright Office Provides Guidance On Protecting AI-Created Works

The U.S. Copyright Office is offering new guidance and policy considerations for the registration of artistic, musical, literary and other works created with the assistance of artificial intelligence ("AI") technology. On March 16, 2023, the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office published a policy statement providing insight into its new internal practices for examining and registering works containing AI-generated material, while reiterating the Office's long-standing registrability requirement of human authorship. The Office explained that the registrability of AI-assisted works will be determined by making a case-by-case inquiry into whether contributions made by AI are the result of "mechanical reproduction," or are instead the product of a human author's own original mental conception that is implemented using AI technology. The Office's full policy statement can be viewed here.