The Art of Attribution and Three Unlikely Theories of AI Authorship
Patent – Patently-O 2024-11-25
Summary:
by Tim Knight and Dennis Crouch.
In 2018, Dr. Stephen Thaler, creator of the ‘Creativity Machine’ AI system, sought copyright registration for an AI-generated image, listing the Creativity Machine as author. The Copyright Office rejected the application, citing the necessity of a human author under copyright law. After two failed requests for reconsideration, Thaler sued to compel registration. United States District Judge Beryl Howell ruled against Dr. Thaler. The case is now pending before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal, with the parties recently presenting oral arguments before Judge Patricia Millett, Judge Judith Rogers, and former patent litigator Judge Robert Wilkins. The graphic work itself is undeniably original and fixed in tangible form – key traditional elements for copyright protection. 17 U.S.C. 102 (“Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression”). And unlike naturally occurring beauty, the work exists only because of human creative endeavors. The rub though is that Dr. Thaler’s human creativity was directed toward developing the AI system, a major step removed from originating the artwork itself.
All the parties appear to agree that the facts in this case are particularly narrow based upon Dr.