Copyright Office Says AI-Generated Works Based on Text Prompts Are Not Protected
Highlights
The latest report from the U.S. Copyright Office clarifies that the use of AI to assist human creativity does not necessarily preclude copyright protection for the resulting work
The key distinction lies in whether AI is merely a tool aiding human creativity or whether it serves as a substitute for human authorship
The Office reassures creators that using AI for tasks such as outlining a book or generating song ideas does not affect the copyrightability of the final work, provided the author is “referencing, but not incorporating, the output”
The U.S. Copyright Office released its January 2025 report to address the legal and policy issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) and copyright, as outlined in the Office’s August 2023 Notice of Inquiry. This report has clarified that outputs generated by AI based solely on text prompts – regardless of their complexity – are not protected under current copyright law.
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