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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Asks If "AI" Can Create or Infringe Copyrighted Works

Accepted submission by takyon at 2019-11-11 02:38:58
Techonomics

USPTO Questions if Artificial Intelligence Can Create or Infringe Copyrighted Works [torrentfreak.com]

The USPTO is part of the US Department of Commerce and deals with various intellectual property rights issues. It previously raised questions on how AI technology impacts patent law and is now expanding this to copyright matters.

The consultation starts off by asking whether anything created by an AI, without human involvement, can be copyrighted. This can refer to any type of content, including music, images, and texts.

"Should a work produced by an AI algorithm or process, without the involvement of a natural person contributing expression to the resulting work, qualify as a work of authorship protectable under U.S. copyright law? Why or why not?" the Office asks.

The technology and code that makes any AI work obviously relies on human interaction, but USPTO's question is destined to raise a lively debate. Since it's expected that more and more creations will rely heavily on AI in the future, the US Government requests guidance on these issues.

In a follow-up question, the Office zooms in further still by asking what kind of human involvement is required to make something copyrightable. Yet another question deals with possible copyright infringements by an AI. Or in other words, can an AI pirate?

The comment period closes on Dec. 16. [govinfo.gov]

See also: Academy of European Law Conference Report: "Artificial Intelligence: Challenges for Intellectual Property Law" [blogspot.com]


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