Practical ChatGPT Tips for Everyday Use
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| AI-generated image in the style of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings. |
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked significant discussions in the United States regarding the recognition of copyrights for AI-generated works and instances of copyright infringement.
Recognition of Copyrights for AI-Generated Works
In September 2022, a notable case emerged when an AI-generated comic book received copyright registration approval in the U.S. This marked the first instance where a work created by AI was officially recognized by the U.S. Copyright Office, igniting debates about the intersection of AI, art, and copyright law.
Furthermore, in March 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office clarified its stance on AI-generated works. It stated that if a human's creative input is evident, such works may qualify for copyright protection. This guidance provided a framework for understanding how AI-generated content could be treated under existing copyright laws.
Instances of Copyright Infringement Related to AI
The proliferation of AI technologies has also led to several high-profile copyright infringement cases:
Getty Images vs. Stability AI (January 2023): Getty Images filed a lawsuit against Stability AI, alleging that the company used millions of its images without authorization to train its AI model, Stable Diffusion. This case highlighted concerns about the use of copyrighted material in AI training datasets.
Authors vs. OpenAI and Meta (July 2023): Authors including Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates sued OpenAI and Meta, claiming that their books were used without permission to train AI models like ChatGPT and LLaMA. The lawsuit emphasized the unauthorized use of copyrighted texts in AI training.
The New York Times vs. OpenAI and Microsoft (December 2023): The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that their AI models were trained on the newspaper's articles without consent. The Times argued that this unauthorized use infringed on its copyrights and impacted its commercial interests.
Thomson Reuters vs. Ross Intelligence (February 2025): Thomson Reuters won a legal battle against Ross Intelligence, a legal research firm, over the unauthorized use of its Westlaw database to train an AI model. The court ruled that Ross's use of Thomson Reuters' copyrighted material without permission was not protected under fair use, setting a significant precedent for AI-related copyright cases.
These cases underscore the growing tension between AI development and intellectual property rights, highlighting the need for clear legal frameworks to address these emerging issues.