You might not think about copyright very often, but we are all copyright owners and authors. In the age of generative AI, copyright has quickly become one of the most important issues in the development and outputs of chatbots, image and video generators.
Sadly, copyright and AI are something of a mess. The race to develop the most advanced AI models shows no sign of slowing anytime soon. In order to create those next-gen models, tech companies are looking for a lot of high-quality, human-generated content. They need these works to make their AI models better, whether that's giving a chatbot a more lifelike personality or an image generator more artistic styles to reference. On the flip side, AI enthusiasts might be wondering if it's possible to receive copyright protection for AI-enabled creative works.
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Most AI companies have been very vague about what content they use, which has led to more than 30-plus lawsuits winding their way through US courts. You might have heard of some of the most notable, like The New York Times v. OpenAI, in which the publisher alleges that ChatGPT used reporters' stories verbatim without proper attribution or permission. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
I spend a lot of time thinking about copyright and AI in my work reporting on AI creative services. I've interviewed intellectual property lawyers, spoken with many concerned creators, and spent way too much time breaking down legalese from government agencies. I've used that experience to make this guide on what you need to know about copyright in the age of AI, which we'll keep updating as things change.
What is copyright?
Copyright is a set of expressed rights that protect "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated," according to the Copyright Act of 1976.
In other words, copyright is a legal protection that gives original authors the rights to and control over their original works. Copyright protection can apply to books, art, music, movies, computer programs, blogs, architectural designs, plays, choreography and more. We're all copyright owners. As the US Copyright Office puts it: "Once you create an original work and fix it, like taking a photograph, writing a poem or blog or recording a new song, you are the author and the owner."
There are a couple of ways copyright intersects with AI. On the output side, people who use AI services like chatbots and image generators want to know whether their AI-enabled work is eligible for copyright protection. On the development side, there are a lot of concerns about AI companies using copyrighted material illegally. Here's what we know so far.
Can I copyright an image or text I generated with AI?
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