U.S. opens inquiry into Generative AI copyright and policy issues

Generative A.I. is artificial intelligence that has the ability to create text, images, or media. Now the Copyright Office must consider how to or not to protect the creative works of non-intellectual property.

by Staff Writer of Celebrity Access

The U.S. Copyright Office announced plans to launch an inquiry into copyright and policy issues around the use of generative artificial intelligence in the creative industries.

The Copyright Office will use the information assembled during the evaluation to provide guidance to the public, courts, and Congress, including assessing whether legislative or regulatory steps are warranted.

The area of focus for the inquiry includes the use of copyrighted works to train AI models, the appropriate levels of transparency and disclosure with respect to the use of copyrighted works, the legal status of AI-generated outputs, and the appropriate treatment of AI-generated outputs that mimic personal attributes of human artists.

The inquiry is part of the Copyright Office’s AI initiative, which was launched in early 2023.

“We launched this initiative at the beginning of the year to focus on the increasingly complex issues raised by generative AI. This NOI and the public comments we will receive represent a critical next step,” said Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office. “We look forward to continuing to examine these issues of vital importance to the evolution of technology and the future of human creativity.”

For the inquiry, the Copyright Office is soliciting written comments from stakeholders, which are due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.

Instructions for submitting comments are available here.