Copyright laws are monitored and applied to AI created images through a combination of legal frameworks, guidelines, and industry practices. The US Copyright Office plays a significant role in examining the copyright law and policy issues related to AI technology, including the scope of copyright in works generated using AI tools and the use of copyrighted materials in AI training. In the US, copyright protection is granted to authors for limited periods of time, and this concept of authorship is key in determining if AI-generated images are eligible for copyright protection.
Limited copyright protection for computer-generated works has been in place since 1988. However, works created solely by artificial intelligence, even if produced from a text prompt written by a human, are not currently protected by copyright. When it comes to training AI models, the use of copyrighted materials is generally considered fair game. The legal implications of AI-generated images are still evolving, with recent developments suggesting that copyright protection for AI-generated works is not entirely outside the realm of possibility, particularly in countries like Canada. In determining the applicability of copyright laws to AI-generated images, the focus is often on the level of human creativity involved in the process and the extent to which copyrighted materials are used in the training of AI models.