Friday’s Endnotes – 04/19/24

Can’t Hide from Brussels: EU To Require Copyright-Related AI Disclosures — “On March 13, 2024, the European Parliament approved the Artificial Intelligence Act, known as the AI Act.  Formal adoption of the AI Act is expected in early Summer 2024, with implementation spearheaded by the newly-formed European AI Office.  The AI Act is the one of the first major legislative frameworks in the world to emerge in response to the spread and seeming ubiquity of the relatively new generative AI technologies.”

Author granted copyright over book with AI-generated text—with a twist — “Although it continues to define authorship as an exclusively human endeavor, the USCO has demonstrated openness to registering works that incorporate AI elements. The USCO said in February that it has granted registration to over 100 works with AI incorporated; a search by WIRED found over 200 copyright registration applications explicitly disclosing AI elements, including books, songs, and visual artworks.”

Thaler, Copyright Office Fight Over Human-Authorship Requirement for AI-Created Artwork Continues — “On April 10, Dr. Stephen Thaler filed a reply brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, continuing the artificial intelligence (AI) technologist’s legal challenge to the U.S. Copyright Office’s refusal to register copyright to an artwork generated by Thaler’s Creativity Machine…”

Key Defendant in Anna’s Archive Lawsuit Denies Any Involvement With the Site — “American nonprofit OCLC sued Anna’s Archive in February for allegedly hacking its WorldCat database and posting the records online. The only named defendant, a software developer from Washington, denies any involvement with the hack and the pirate library, suggesting that the plaintiffs targeted the wrong person. With a motion to dismiss, the defendant hopes to end the case here and now.”

Authors’ and Publishers’ Organisations Urge WIPO Member States to Maintain International Copyright Framework — “As the 45th session of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) opens, organisations representing authors and performers call ‘on WIPO Member States to keep supporting the flourishing cultural and creative sectors and the substantive and economic values authors and publishers convey to society.'”