The US Supreme Court dismisses a lawsuit claiming that AI owns the copyright to images generated by AI.
While image-generating AI and text-generating AI have become accessible to anyone, copyright issues have arisen frequently. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court recently dismissed a lawsuit that claimed that AI holds the copyright to images it generates.
Supreme Court denies appeal in AI-generated art case | Courthouse News Service
US Supreme Court declines to hear dispute over copyrights for AI-generated material | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-declines-hear-dispute-over-copyrights-ai-generated-material-2026-03-02/
The lawsuit in question was filed by computer scientist Steven Thaler . In 2016, Thaler created an artwork called 'A Recent Entrance to Paradise' using his AI, Creativity Machine , and applied for copyright in 2018. At the time, Thaler attempted to register Creativity Machine as the author, rather than himself, but the application was rejected by the Copyright Office, leading to the lawsuit.
This is A Recent Entrance to Paradise.
After the application was rejected, the Copyright Office established a committee to reconsider the case, but in February 2022, it rejected the application, determining that 'AI-generated images do not contain the elements of 'human authorship' necessary for copyright protection.'
The US Copyright Office denies AI copyright, saying 'artworks created by AI have no copyright' - GIGAZINE
Mr. Saylor appealed, but in August 2023, Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that 'human authorship is a fundamental requirement of copyright.'
Court rules that AI-generated works cannot be protected by copyright - GIGAZINE
Thaler appealed further, but in March 2025, a federal appeals court dismissed the case, ruling that 'artworks generated by AI without human input cannot be protected under U.S. copyright law.'
US appeals court rules that AI-generated artworks cannot be protected by copyright - GIGAZINE
On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed the case. It should be noted that this case was about whether or not to recognize AI as the author, and does not mean that copyright does not apply to AI-generated works. In other words, if a human were to apply for copyright, the application might be successful. In fact, Supreme Court Justice Patricia Millett stated, 'Mr. Thaler would still be able to obtain copyright in the works generated by his AI. He would simply need to apply for copyright in his own name, not in the name of the AI.'
By the way, Thaler also applied for patents for a shape-shifting food container and an emergency flashlight that he invented using an AI called ' DABUS ,' naming DABUS as the inventor. This application was also rejected, and in 2023 the Supreme Court ruled that 'AI cannot be recognized as an inventor when filing a patent application.'
US Supreme Court rules that AI cannot be recognized as an inventor in patent applications - GIGAZINE
Related Posts:
in AI, Posted by log1o_hf