Protecting Artificial Intelligence Under Copyright Law: Protectability, Authorship, Registration

Description

In March 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office announced an AI-generated work can be copyrighted if a human can prove they put a meaningful amount of creative effort into the final work. AI is increasingly important and is at work in many things used today.

AI systems are based on software and the usual IP issues associated with developing software products apply. However, there are also some unique features of AI systems, and in particular the output of such systems, which give rise to IP challenges. These challenges include demonstrating that an AI-created work is subject to copyright protection in the first place, and if so, determining authorship.

Innovation often is accompanied by infringement and misappropriation. Companies must understand how to protect and enforce their IP rights in AI and AI-created works, and also how to avoid infringement when creating and training AI. Software is protected under U.S. copyright law, but that protection is limited to the original expression in the software and does not extend to the functional aspects of the software. In addition, many AI programs rely on data and datasets to train the AI. While data itself is not copyrightable, data compilations and structured datasets might be. However, even if copyright protection exists, there are still unresolved questions as to whether the use of copyrighted materials to train AI is infringing.

Listen as our authoritative panel of IP attorneys examines the issues that arise in copyright protection of AI and AI-created works, including protectability, authorship, and registration. The panel will discuss how to address issues relating to copyright protection for AI and AI-related works and how to minimize infringement risks. The panel will also discuss what can be done to anticipate and minimize the risks of rejection.