US Copyright Office Seeks Insights on Protecting Generative AI-Produced Work

The U.S. Copyright Office will seek insights on a future policy on issuing copyright protections for artificial intelligence-generated work.

According to a Federal Register notice, the Copyright Office wants to know if generative AI application developers may ingest copyrighted material without prior compensation or permission. The office also wants to know how to handle AI-generated outputs designed to resemble human work.

Other issues the office needs answers on include generative AI for content creators, opt-out mechanisms, responsibilities for infringement cases and other governance matters, Nextgov/FCW reported Tuesday.

The Copyright Office’s query follows other U.S. government agencies’ efforts to manage generative AI.

In July, Sens. Ed Markey and Gary Peters asked the Government Accountability Office to assess risks posed by generative AI tools. The senators were concerned that generative AI was being used to scam people and provide false information and defamatory statements.

In June, the National Institute of Standards and Technology planned to form the Generative AI Public Working Group, which will help address opportunities and challenges associated with the technology.

The U.S. government also started working with the private sector to understand the implications of generative AI on the U.S. Intelligence Community.