https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-appeals-court-rejects-copyrights-ai-generated-art-lacking-human-creator-2025-03-18/ Skip to main content Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more aboutRefinitiv * World Browse World + Africa + Americas + Asia Pacific + China + Europe + India + Israel and Hamas at War + Japan + Middle East + Ukraine and Russia at War + United Kingdom + United States + Reuters NEXT * Business Browse Business + Aerospace & Defense + Autos & Transportation + Davos + Energy + Environment + Finance + Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals + Media & Telecom + Retail & Consumer + Future of Health + Future of Money + Take Five + World at Work * Markets Browse Markets + Asian Markets + Carbon Markets + Commodities + Currencies + Deals + Emerging Markets + ETFs + European Markets + Funds + Global Market Data + Rates & Bonds + Stocks + U.S. Markets + Wealth + Macro Matters * Sustainability Browse Sustainability + Boards, Policy & Regulation + Climate & Energy + Land Use & Biodiversity + Society & Equity + Sustainable Finance & Reporting + The Switch + Reuters Impact + COP29 * Legal Browse Legal + Government + Legal Industry + Litigation + Transactional + US Supreme Court * Breakingviews Browse Breakingviews + Breakingviews Predictions * Technology Browse Technology + Artificial Intelligence + Cybersecurity + Space + Disrupted * Investigations * More Sports + Athletics + Baseball + Basketball + Cricket + Cycling + Formula 1 + Golf + NFL + NHL + Soccer + Tennis ScienceLifestyleGraphicsPictures Wider ImagePodcastsFact CheckVideoSponsored Content + Reuters Plus + Press Releases Live My News Register US appeals court rejects copyrights for AI-generated art lacking 'human' creator By Blake Brittain March 18, 20256:05 PM UTCUpdated ago * * * * * * * * Illustration shows AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and computer motherboard AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab March 18 - A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday affirmed that a work of art generated by artificial intelligence without human input cannot be copyrighted under U.S. law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed , opens new tab with the U.S. Copyright Office that an image created by Stephen Thaler's AI system "DABUS" was not entitled to copyright protection, and that only works with human authors can be copyrighted. Sign up here. Tuesday's decision marks the latest attempt by U.S. officials to grapple with the copyright implications of the fast-growing generative AI industry. The Copyright Office has separately rejected artists' bids for copyrights on images generated by the AI system Midjourney. The artists argued they were entitled to copyrights for images they created with AI assistance -- unlike Thaler, who said that his "sentient" system created the image in his case independently. Thaler's attorney Ryan Abbott said he and his client "strongly disagree" with the ruling and intend to appeal. The Copyright Office said in a statement that it "believes the court reached the correct result." Thaler, of St. Charles, Missouri, applied for a copyright in 2018 covering "A Recent Entrance to Paradise," a piece of visual art he said was made by his AI system. The office rejected his application in 2022, finding that creative works must have human authors to be copyrightable. A federal district court judge in Washington upheld the decision in 2023 and said human authorship is a "bedrock requirement of copyright" based on "centuries of settled understanding." Thaler told the D.C. Circuit that the ruling threatened to "discourage investment and labor in a critically new and important developing field." U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel on Tuesday that U.S. copyright law "requires all work to be authored in the first instance by a human being." "Because many of the Copyright Act's provisions make sense only if an author is a human being, the best reading of the Copyright Act is that human authorship is required for registration," the appeals court said. Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington. Editing by David Bario, Leigh Jones and Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * United States * * * * * Purchase Licensing Rights [https] Blake Brittain Thomson Reuters Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, for Reuters Legal. 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