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The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a case challenging whether works created solely by artificial intelligence can receive copyright protection, leaving existing law that requires human authorship intact amid ongoing discussions about AI and intellectual property.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a challenge over whether images produced solely by generative artificial intelligence can receive copyright protection, effectively leaving intact rulings that limit U.S. copyright to works with human authors. According to reporting by Decrypt, the court\u2019s refusal ends Stephen Thaler\u2019s latest bid to secure registration for an image generated by his AI system while broader debate about AI and intellectual property remains unresolved. [2]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The dispute centres on Thaler\u2019s Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience, or DABUS, and an artwork he described as \u201cA Recent Entrance to Paradise.\u201d Thaler first sought copyright registration in 2018; the U.S. Copyright Office rejected the application in 2022 on the ground that federal law requires human authorship. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit subsequently affirmed the refusal. According to the Copyright Office\u2019s summary of the appeals decision, the court described human authorship as a \u201cbedrock requirement of copyright.\u201d [1]<\/a><\/sup>[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Federal judges at multiple levels agreed with the Copyright Office that a work generated entirely without human creative input does not qualify for protection under current law. The D.C. Circuit\u2019s ruling upheld the lower courts\u2019 view that existing statutory language and precedent confine copyright to human creators, a position the appeals court set out in its published opinion. Thaler\u2019s legal team has continued to press the issue, arguing the law should adapt to technological change. [6]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Critics and supporters of Thaler\u2019s effort have characterised the litigation in contrasting terms. Brian Fyre, a University of Kentucky law professor, told Decrypt that \u201cThaler has been pursuing this somewhat quixotic litigation over an image created by an early generative AI model that he created and named the \u2018creativity machine,\u2019\u201d and added that \u201cPretty much everyone across the board has said human authorship is required, and AI doesn\u2019t have human authorship, whatever we mean by that.\u201d Thaler\u2019s petition argued that \u201cThe Copyright Office\u2019s reliance on its own nonstatutory requirements have led to an improper cabining of United States copyright law in contradiction of this Court\u2019s precedent that copyright law should accommodate technological progress.\u201d Thaler\u2019s attorney Ryan Abbott described the Supreme Court\u2019s refusal as \u201cdisappointing\u201d and said the Court often waits for circuit splits before taking on such issues. [1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The U.S. government urged the high court not to take the case, filing a brief that said the D.C. Circuit\u2019s decision should stand. The government rejected the contention that denying registration would chill investment in AI or eliminate incentives to develop creative AI tools, recommending deference to the appellate ruling. Bloomberg Law coverage of the government brief described that position as counsel for keeping the matter for further development in the lower courts. [7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n For now, American courts continue to treat generative systems as instruments rather than as independent legal authors. Legal scholars and practitioners expect further suits that test the boundary, likely from parties with clearer commercial stakes than Thaler, so the legal landscape may evolve as different federal circuits weigh similar claims. Until a court with final jurisdiction or Congress acts, the settled position across the relevant decisions is that copyright protection in the United States remains tied to human authorship. [1]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Inspired by headline at:<\/strong> [1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\nSource Reference Map<\/h3>\n