Mikele Bicolli
Mar 18, 2022

Can Art Created By Artificial Intelligence Be Copyrighted?

Computers nowadays can produce music, poems as well as paint, sometimes even better than humans and all of the above qualifies as copyrightable material. But can it be copyrighted if it’s made from AI?
Back in 2018 there was a case which was brought up to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals where People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued a photographer who published some selfies taken by a monkey itself. It was argued that publishing those photos infringed the monkey’s rights under the Copyright Act. The courts decided that the Copyright Act couldn’t be applied to monkeys and all animals since they are not humans.
Similarly just one month ago, the U.S. Copyright Office refused to grant a copyright for a painting created by an AI program. The ruling states that human authorship is a requirement for the copyright protection. This is the second time the machine’s owner tries to copyright this image and will likely proceed for an appeal. This comes in a time where many artists use AI to help them generate artwork, sometimes even from scratch and completely autonomously. Some of this type of artwork sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars in auctions which makes the copyright protection an important issue.
It will be interesting to see how this case develops in further courts and to see if there are going to be any changes to the copyright law. What is your opinion on giving copyright to art made by AI?