An Ongoing Legal Battle Could Determine the Future of AI Used in Art

You might remember the buzz when Josh Allen, a digital artist, won first place at the 2022 Colorado State Fair for his digital artwork called "Théâtre D'opéra Spatial." The catch? He created the image using AI. Now, he’s in a fight with the Copyright Office to prove that his work deserves copyright protection.

Copyright Office Denies Copyright 

In 2023, Allen tried to get a copyright for his winning piece, but the Copyright Office said no—twice. They argued that Allen didn’t have enough control over the final image because he used an AI tool to create it. The Office explained that since Allen didn’t directly control how the AI responded to his instructions (or “prompts”), the image wasn’t fully his creation.

Allen Fights Back

Allen is challenging the decision, saying the Copyright Office was influenced by all the media attention his work got. He argues that the Office shouldn’t judge whether art is made by AI or by humans because it’s not always easy to tell. Allen thinks this sets a bad example for how AI-generated art is treated, especially as technology gets better.

He’s now going to court to explain that, while the AI helped create the image, he spent over 100 hours carefully crafting over 600 prompts to guide the AI in making the exact image he had in his head—women in Victorian dresses with space helmets, performing opera on stage. Allen believes that his time, effort, and direction make him the true creator of the artwork.

The Copyright Office’s Take

The Copyright Office agrees that Allen’s prompts are original and can be protected. However, they say the final image generated by the AI cannot be copyrighted because Allen didn’t create it entirely by hand. They also mentioned that if Allen had made more edits to the image, like adding a filter, he could’ve registered his copyright without any issues.

What’s Next?

It’s unclear how this case will end, but it highlights how tricky it can be to figure out who owns AI-generated content. Allen’s battle with the Copyright Office has been going on for a while, and it may take even longer to get a final decision.

So, what do you think? Should artists be able to copyright works made with AI, or does the fact that a machine did most of the work change things?