Artist Challenges Copyright Office Refusal to Register Award-Winning AI-Assisted Work

Copyright law has long struggled to keep pace with advances in technology, and the debate around the copyrightability of AI-assisted works is no exception. At issue is the human authorship requirement: the principle that a work must have a human author to be eligible for copyright protection. While the Copyright Office has previously cited this "bedrock requirement of copyright" to reject registrations, recent decisions have focused on the role of human authorship in the context of AI.

11 minute read November 01, 2024 at 12:11 AM
By
Emily Bullis
Artist Challenges Copyright Office Refusal to Register Award-Winning AI-Assisted Work

Copyright law has long struggled to keep pace with advances in technology, and the debate around the copyrightability of AI-assisted works is no exception. At issue is the human authorship requirement: the principle that a work must have a human author to be eligible for copyright protection.

This premium content is locked for The Intellectual Property Strategist subscribers only

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN The Intellectual Property Strategist

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Subscribe Now

Already have an account? Sign In Now

For enterprise-wide or corporate access, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or call 1-877-256-2473.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2026 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Continue Reading

Beyond Workflows and Outputs: AI’s Impact On Strategic Planning

Law firms are at a variety of stages of AI strategy development, adoption and organizational maturity. While there are many important decisions being made on how to frame, structure, and evaluate these tools into legal practice, firm leaders are also considering the long-term impact on their firm’s business strategy.

May 31, 2026

Law Firms Have a Memory Problem Not a Selling Problem

The legal industry continues to treat business development as though it is primarily an attorney behavior issue. It is not. The firm absolutely has the expertise, but what it lacks is retrieval speed and accuracy.

May 31, 2026

Law Firms Don’t Have a Selling Problem, They Have a Memory Problem

The next real divide in the legal market is unlikely to be intelligence. The divide will be between institutions that can reliably retrieve and deploy what they already know and those that cannot. The firms that win will be the ones that can surface the right knowledge, in the right hands, before anyone else does.

May 31, 2026

Work-for-Hire Issue in Litigation Over 'Goosebumps' Musical

A current work-for-hire dispute over rights to the musical adaptation, cast album compositions and sheet music based on the children’s horror novel Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium explores the inter-relationship of work-for-hire and copyright-ownership language in agreements signed both before and after the Goosebumps play was created.

May 31, 2026