The answer could determine who makes billions of dollars. And whether the users and owners of new AI systems own copyrights to reap huge benefits. For example, companies could use AI to produce and own the rights to vast quantities of low-cost graphics, music, video, and text for advertising, branding, and entertainment.
In the U.S. and many other countries, anyone who engages in creative expression usually has immediate legal rights to it. However, courts including the U.S. Supreme Court have long held that an author has to be a human being.
In rejecting legal protection for the “Zarya” images, the U.S. Copyright Office cited rulings denying legal protection for a selfie snapped by a curious monkey named Naruto and for a song that the copyright applicant said had been composed by “the Holy Spirit.”
Many artists and companies that own creative content fiercely oppose granting copyrights to AI owners or users. They argue that the new algorithms work by training themselves on vast quantities of material on the open web. And some of that training material is copyrighted.
