The U.S. Copyright Office refuses to protect the copyright of a painting whose image generation AI 'Midjourney' won first place at a competition, even after entering the prompt 624 times and editing it with Photoshop.

In August 2022, a picture generated by the image generation AI ' Midjourney ' became a hot topic when it won first place at an art fair. Regarding the copyright protection of this work that won first place, it is reported that the United States Copyright Office Examination Committee refused to protect the copyright, saying that ``the human copyright necessary for registration is lacking.''

Théâtre D'opéra Spatial Review Board Decision Letter - Theater-Dopera-Spatial.pdf
https://www.copyright.gov/rulings-filings/review-board/docs/Theatre-Dopera-Spatial.pdf

US Copyright Office denies protection for another AI-created image | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-copyright-office-denies-protection-another-ai-created-image-2023-09-06/

US rejects AI copyright for famous state fair-winning Midjourney art | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/09/us-rejects-ai-copyright-for-famous-state-fair-winning-midjourney-art/

In August 2022, the work ``Theatre D'opera Spatial'' created by artist Jason Allen on Midjourney won first place in the digital art category at an art fair held in Colorado, USA. This news sparked controversy regarding the relationship between art and AI.

A picture drawn by the image generation AI 'Midjourney' won first place at an art fair, and a human artist was furious - GIGAZINE

Mr. Allen, who worked on the generation, applied for copyright registration of 'Theatre D'opera Spatial'. The Copyright Office asked Mr. Allen for information about the process of creating the work, and Mr. Allen replied, ``I entered the text prompt at least 624 times, and at the same time made numerous corrections using Adobe Photoshop.''

The Copyright Office told Mr. Allen that in order to copyright 'Theatre D'opera Spatial,' he would have to give up some of the images Midjourney produced, but that Mr. Allen Refusing to do so, the Copyright Office denied Mr. Allen's application. The Copyright Office ``determined that the content exceeds the minimum amount generated by AI, and determined that the copyright registration for this content must be disavowed.'' Mr. Allen disavowed AI. That's because they are reluctant to do so.'

Mr. Allen is dissatisfied with the Copyright Office's decision and is appealing, arguing that ``The Copyright Office makes value judgments about the usefulness of various tools.'' Mr. Allen pointed out that ``denying copyright protection for artistic works generated by AI invalidates ownership rights,'' but the Copyright Office denies Mr. Allen's point.

According to Reuters, Allen said: 'The Copyright Office's decision is as expected, but I'm confident that I will ultimately win. I think this will create more problems than it will solve. 'New copyright issues will come before the Copyright Office in ways we cannot yet foresee.'

This is not the first time that the Copyright Office has denied copyright to AI-generated works. In February 2023, regarding the copyright of graphic novels created using image generation AI, the Copyright Office stated, ``While recognizing the copyright of the creator of the description and arrangement of pictures in the graphic novel, The court has ruled that copyright cannot be granted to the picture itself.

``Comic pictures created by AI are not protected by copyright,'' the US Copyright Office declares, and the author welcomes it as ``great news'' - GIGAZINE