A copyright application made by a Delhi-based lawyer Ankit Sahni was rejected by the US Copyright Office.
The application was for a piece of artwork that was generated by an artificial intelligence painting app named RAGHAV (Robust Artificial Intelligence Graphics and Art Visualizer). The application listed the AI software RAGHAV and Sahni as co-authors.
A provisional refusal had been issued in February where Sahni was asked to explain the process that was used to derive the final piece and how he interacted with the AI program.
The provisional notice also included that the work must contain original and creative authorship, and that Sahni as a human operator was a tool for the machine and would not have any artistic decision.
Sahni explained the process and submitted that he had taken an original picture that the AI software used to create the final artwork, and that he had chosen Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ as a style input which was regulated by a controlled style transfer variable. He contended that the artwork was a direct outcome of his creative expression, and this was one of human authorship with an assisting AI instrument.
However, the Copyright Office rendered its final refusal of the application stating that the work was generated in part by a computer program. This refusal was a step further in the office’s refusal to grant copyrights to AI generated pieces, in the DABUS case the office did not recognize AI as a sole author in a copyrighted work.
In response to this decision Sahni expresses concern for other applications where any work is created by assistance of AI software. He also speculated that this may lead to concealment by people of the use of AI software in their work.
The Indian copyright office had initially granted a copyright to Sahni, but later sent a notice of withdrawal of copyright protection.
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