How the “monkey selfie” is affecting copyright law for art and writing produced by artificial intelligence
Earlier this month, the United States Copyright Office and the World Intellectual Property Organization co-sponsored a symposium titled Copyright in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. The purpose of the symposium was to examine “how the creative community currently is using artificial intelligence (AI) to create original works,” and “what level of human input is sufficient for the resulting work to be eligible for copyright protection,” among other topics.
In his article for The Scholarly Kitchen, Todd A Carpenter read the discussion threads in WIPO’s public consultation and learned that the court decision regarding the famous monkey selfie of 2011 could steer copyright law regarding works created by artificial intelligence.
In 2011, a nature photographer left his camera on a tripod and an endangered Celebes crested macaques, intrigued by its reflection in the lens snapped perhaps hundreds of pictures of itself. One of those photos ended up promoted by the photographer and it ended up in the British press. Other sites, such as Wikipedia and Techdirt reproduced the photo on their sites, that the photographer and PETA eventually perused in court to seek compensation as violation of copyright. Whether the photographer could assert copyright in the photograph was eventually dismissed by the Ninth Circuit court of appeals in 2018.
In the Copyright Office’s Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, released on 22 December, 2014, the Office stated that, “only works created by a human can be copyrighted under United States law, which excludes photographs and artwork created by animals or by machines without human intervention” and furthermore, “Because copyright law is limited to ‘original intellectual conceptions of the author,’ the [copyright] office will refuse to register a claim if it determines that a human being did not create the work. The Office will not register works produced by nature, animals, or plants.” What is left open to wide interpretation is the role of human intervention. In the case of AI, so the argument goes, there is human intervention in the design of the algorithms, in their training, and in their post-algorithm curation.
(Image: Mirko Tobias Schäfer, CC BY 2.0)
A federal judge declared that a famous song about public property is still private property
Woody Guthrie originally wrote “This Land Is Your Land” as a kind of screed against the exploitations of private property ownership. When he submitted the song for copyright, Guthrie allegedly wrote that it was, “Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without […]
READ THE REST
A pair of musicians recorded every possible MIDI melody just to get around copyright law
Motherboard has an interesting new piece about musical copyright law, and the fact that there are only so many musical sequences using half-step frequencies possible. What happens when they’re all used up, and the copyright trolls take everyone to court for any song that even remotely resembles another one, just by virtue of the fact […]
READ THE REST
New claim of YouTube copyright strike extortion (Update: Jukin Media responds)
Jukin Media, one of several media companies that acquires rights to viral video clips, has managed unlicensed use of such clips by monetizing them through YouTube’s contentID system. But Jukin has now reportedly threatened to use copyright strikes to shut down a channel while privately demanding money from its operator. It’s extortion, says the target, […]
READ THE REST
This electric scooter is the eco-friendly way to travel and it’s got a changeable battery pack
If you don’t have to drive, why should you? For many, a car or truck is the only feasible way to get from place to place. But if you live in a mostly urban or suburban setting with your job, grocery store and most of your major destinations no more than a few miles away, […]
READ THE REST
The Syfer Cybersecurity Router is VPN coverage for every device on your home or business network
VPN protection is a necessity in this security-conscious world of ours. But many VPN deals only cover a predetermined number of devices, which means families or businesses can ultimately have a tough time making sure every laptop, tablet, smartphone, and other enabled devices all stay secure. Syfer took a different approach to VPN coverage with […]
READ THE REST
This massive cybersecurity training package covers everything a security pro has to know
In case you needed any more proof that America desperately needs more cybersecurity specialists, look no further than the U.S. Congress. Just this week, the release of a year-long congressional study of America’s cyber defense capabilities showed the nation was still “ill prepared” to fend off cyberattacks and requires a full overhaul of its entire […]
READ THE REST
CBD Oil, Knowing These 9 Secrets Will Make Your Cannabinoid Look Amazing
Find out more