Protecting Your AI-Generated Content: What You Can and Cannot Copyright

Navigating the Evolving Copyright Landscape: Key Insights on Protecting AI-Generated Content. Explore the latest guidance from the US Copyright Office on copyrighting AI-assisted creations, ensuring your IP remains safeguarded.

19 בפברואר 2025

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This blog post provides valuable insights into the latest copyright guidelines for AI-generated content. Discover what you can and cannot copyright when using AI tools in your creative process. Learn how to ensure your work remains protected, even as AI technology continues to evolve.

What Qualifies as Copyrightable AI-Generated Content?

The key points from the copyright office's clarification are:

  • Some forms of AI-generated content can receive copyright protection, provided that a human has substantially contributed or changed the content.
  • Human creativity remains central to copyright law, even as AI tools become more widely used in artistic and commercial creation.
  • Enterprises can have their brands and intellectual property protected when integrated into AI-generated media.
  • Copyright can apply in three scenarios:
    1. When human-authored content is incorporated into the AI output.
    2. When a human significantly modifies or arranges the AI-generated material.
    3. When the human contribution is sufficiently expressive and creative.
  • Using AI as a creative assistant, such as for editing, refining, or generating drafts, does not disqualify a work from copyright protection.
  • Merely providing text prompts to an AI system is generally not enough to establish authorship and qualify for copyright protection.
  • For visual media like art and video, AI-generated images or videos alone do not qualify for copyright, but can if used in conjunction with human-authored or edited content.
  • The key is ensuring there is sufficient human authorship and creativity in the final work, regardless of the use of AI tools in the process.

The Bottom Line: Human Authorship is Key

The key takeaways from the US Copyright Office's clarification on AI and copyright are:

  • Some forms of AI-generated content can receive copyright protection, provided that a human has substantially contributed or changed the content.
  • Human creativity remains central to copyright law, even as AI tools become more widely used in artistic and commercial creation.
  • Using AI as a creative assistant, such as for editing, refining, or generating drafts, does not disqualify a work from copyright protection, as long as human authorship remains a core part of the final work.
  • Merely providing text prompts to an AI system is generally not enough to establish authorship and qualify for copyright protection. The prompts are considered instructions or ideas rather than expressive contributions.
  • For visual media like art and video, AI-generated images or video clips on their own do not qualify for copyright. However, if the AI-generated content is used in conjunction with human-authored or human-edited work, it can be eligible for copyright.
  • The key is to ensure that you, as the human creator, are putting in sufficient creative work and authorship into the final product, regardless of how AI was used in the process. This will allow you to claim copyright over the work.

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