Artist sues U.S. Copyright Office over AI-generated image rights

Jason Allen, a board game designer, is suing the U.S. Copyright Office after it denied him copyright protection for his AI-generated artwork, 'Théâtre D’opéra Spatial.' Allen spent over a hundred hours using Midjourney, an AI image generator, to create this award-winning piece. Following the denial, he faced issues with others attempting to sell his work as their own on various platforms, which he attributes to backlash from the artist community after his success at the Colorado State Fair in 2022. In 2023, a class action lawsuit was filed by a group of artists against AI companies, including Midjourney, for allegedly using copyrighted artworks without permission to train their AI models. This lawsuit has progressed to discovery, allowing artists to examine the training data used by these AI systems. The legal landscape surrounding AI-generated works is evolving, with the Copyright Office grappling with how traditional copyright laws apply to modern AI technologies. The agency has ruled against granting copyright registrations for fully AI-generated works, while still allowing some registrations for works that include AI-generated elements. This has raised questions about the extent of human input required for copyright protection and the implications for artists using AI tools. Allen argues that even minimal human input should qualify for copyright protection, emphasizing that the creative process still involves significant effort. He now operates an online gallery to sell his AI-assisted art, highlighting the changing nature of art creation in the digital age.