New AI Guidance From The Copyright Office

The U.S. Copyright Office has announced a new artificial intelligence initiative and with it a new guidance, which appeared in the March 16 Federal Register. A summary of the initiative appears in a recent post from law firm Jones Day. Among the main points: Only humans can be “authors,” but if the work modifies, selects or arranges the AI product, it may be eligible for protection. From now on applicants must disclose that a submitted work contains AI-generated material, and disclaim that material if it is more than de minimis. Applications that are pending must be updated. The Copyright office also announced dates for four public roundtables that will discuss AI and copyright.