Some pertinent on on this is here;
https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...ial-generated-by-artificial-intelligence

Note that the Fed register is the gov's official newspaper but I would accept the info given as 'gold advice'. More precisely, though it is not a statute passed by Congress and it is not a court decision, it is, however, a Statement of Policy issued by the United States Copyright Office and published in the Federal Register. Its purpose is to explain how the Copyright Office will apply existing copyright law when examining copyright applications involving AI-generated material.

Now then...


Opencase.com is a legal AI tool. At the prompt, I put this to it: If someone wants to copyright an AI assisted song, offer the music forum some plain talkin' advice,


Before I give it to you, my advice: Do not lie on any government form. That is a bad idea, and it can create serious legal problems. Also, nobody knows how advanced AI-detection tools will be in the future.

Second advice: If it's all AI, you won't be protected by copyright.


Opencase's reply:

Below is a plain-talk forum reply you can post:

Be honest about the AI part. If AI helped make the song, do not claim the whole thing was created by a human if that is not true.

Claim only your human contribution. If you wrote the lyrics, melody, chord progression, arrangement, or did real editing and selection, say so clearly. The Copyright Office has said applicants should identify the human-authored parts and exclude AI-generated material. 17 U.S.C. § 409(10); 37 C.F.R. § 202.3(b)(2)(i)(B); Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P., 595 U.S. 178 (2022).12

Do not list the AI tool as the author. The Copyright Office’s guidance says the AI system is not the author just because you used it. 88 Fed. Reg. 16,190 (Mar. 16, 2023).1

Use the copyright form carefully. A registration application is not the place to bluff. If the form asks what you created, answer it truthfully. False statements can create problems for registration and, in some cases, criminal exposure. 17 U.S.C. § 506(e); 17 U.S.C. § 411(b)(1); Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P., 595 U.S. 178 (2022).12

A copyright registration still matters. It is generally required before you can file a U.S. infringement suit, and it can affect damages and attorneys’ fees. It is not “useless.” 17 U.S.C. § 411(a); 17 U.S.C. § 412.12

If the song is a mix of human and AI work, separate the two. Register the human-authored parts and disclaim the AI-generated parts if needed. That is the safest route under current Copyright Office guidance. 88 Fed. Reg. 16,190 (Mar. 16, 2023); Copyright and Artificial Intelligence | U.S. Copyright Office.12

Bottom line: do not overclaim. If the song has real human authorship, you may have protectable rights in that human-authored portion. If the AI did the expressive heavy lifting, you cannot treat that output as fully human-authored just to make the registration look better. 88 Fed. Reg. 16,190 (Mar. 16, 2023); NewsNet Issue 1060 | U.S. Copyright Office.12

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, with all those citations I don't know how 'plain talkin' ' it was, but, I thought I'd offer it to the forum.

Last edited by Pat Hardy; 1 hour ago.