The US Copyright Office (USCO) is seeking public comment on the issue of artificial intelligence and copyright law.

Copyright law has been a particularly difficult issue in the context of AI. Various individuals have applied for intellectual property protections on behalf of AIs that have created various works. In most cases, the courts have ruled against such protections for AI, but the USCO is taking a look at whether such AIs should qualify for copyright protections.

The Federal Register outlines the challenges the USCO is hoping to address:

Over the last year, artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems and the rapid growth of their capabilities have attracted significant media and public attention. One type of AI, “generative AI” technology, is capable of producing outputs such as text, images, video, or audio (including emulating a human voice) that would be considered copyrightable if created by a human author. The adoption and use of generative AI systems by millions of Americans—and the resulting volume of AI-generated material—have sparked widespread public debate about what these systems may mean for the future of creative industries and raise significant questions for the copyright system.

Some of these questions relate to the scope and level of human authorship, if any, in copyright claims for material produced in whole or in part by generative AI. Over the past several years, the Office has begun to receive applications to register works containing AI-generated material, some of which name AI systems as an author or co-author. At the same time, copyright owners have brought infringement claims against AI companies based on the training process for, and outputs derived from, generative AI systems. As concerns and uncertainties mount, Congress and the Copyright Office have been contacted by many stakeholders with diverse views. The Office has publicly announced a broad initiative earlier this year to explore these issues. This Notice is part of that initiative and builds on the Office’s research, expertise, and prior work, as well as information that stakeholders have provided to the Office.

The USCO’s statement illustrates the existing and future moral and ethical issues posed by the rise of AI.