Copyright and the Expression Engine: Idea and Expression in AI-Assisted Creations
Abstract
This essay explores AI-assisted content creation in light of EU and U.S. copyright law. The essay revisits a 2020 study commissioned by the European Commission, which was written before the surge of generative AI. Drawing from traditional legal doctrines, such as the idea/expression dichotomy and its equivalents in Europe, the author argues that iterative prompting may lead to copyright protection of GenAI-assisted output. The paper critiques recent U.S. Copyright Office guidelines that severely restrict registration of works created with the aid of GenAI. Human input, particularly in the conceptual and redaction phases, provides sufficient creative control to justify copyright protection of many AI-assisted works. With many of the expressive features being machine-generated, the scope of copyright protection of such works should, however, remain fairly narrow.
Links
Artificial intelligence, artistic expression, Copyright
Bibtex
Article{nokey,
title = {Copyright and the Expression Engine: Idea and Expression in AI-Assisted Creations},
author = {Hugenholtz, P.},
url = {https://www.ivir.nl/nl/publications/copyright-and-the-expression-engine-idea-and-expression-in-ai-assisted-creations/chicagokentlawreview2024/},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-11-05},
journal = {Chicago-Kent Law Review (forthcoming)},
abstract = {This essay explores AI-assisted content creation in light of EU and U.S. copyright law. The essay revisits a 2020 study commissioned by the European Commission, which was written before the surge of generative AI. Drawing from traditional legal doctrines, such as the idea/expression dichotomy and its equivalents in Europe, the author argues that iterative prompting may lead to copyright protection of GenAI-assisted output. The paper critiques recent U.S. Copyright Office guidelines that severely restrict registration of works created with the aid of GenAI. Human input, particularly in the conceptual and redaction phases, provides sufficient creative control to justify copyright protection of many AI-assisted works. With many of the expressive features being machine-generated, the scope of copyright protection of such works should, however, remain fairly narrow.},
keywords = {Artificial intelligence, artistic expression, Copyright},
}