The Intersection of AI Art and Copyright
In December 2021, Ankit Sani applied for copyright registration for a work as 'photograph, 2D artwork'. This piece is an AI-generated image that pays homage to Vincent van Gogh's masterpiece 'Starry Night'. Ankit combined a photo of a sunset he took with Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' using the AI application 'RAGHAV'.
However, the U.S. Copyright Office rejected the application, citing a lack of human creativity. This decision has sparked debate about the place of AI art within copyright law.
Current State of AI Art and Copyright Law
The issue of copyright for AI art highlights the gap between technological evolution and legal adaptation. Traditionally, copyright law has protected works based on human creativity, but AI-generated art blurs this definition.
In this case, Ankit argues that he clearly defined the areas where AI was involved in combining the sunset photo with Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'. He claims the sunset photo is his original work and that he instructed the AI to alter colors, shapes, and styles in a specific way.
Nonetheless, the U.S. Copyright Office repeatedly rejected the application, stating that the necessary human authorship was missing. They argued that the human creativity Ankit claims is indistinguishable or inseparable from the final work generated by the computer program.
Furthermore, they concluded that the newly created work was generated by the AI application 'RAGHAV', not by Ankit or any other human author, and therefore could not be registered due to the lack of derivative authorship resulting from human creativity.
Global Movement Towards Policy Revision
The challenges surrounding AI and copyright are not limited to the United States but are also prominent domestically. On November 20, 2023, the Agency for Cultural Affairs released a draft of 'Concepts on AI and Copyright' amid concerns about copyright infringement due to generative AI learning from articles and image data without permission. Additionally, in the same month, the EU Council and European Parliament reached an agreement on the world's first AI law, establishing a framework to promote the development and dissemination of safe and reliable AI.
To clearly delineate the boundary of creative authorship between AI and human creativity, ongoing discussions based on various cases worldwide are necessary. Let's keep an eye on the latest trends in this evolving field.
