Copyright Registration Guidance: Works Containing Material Generated by Artificial Intelligence

• Authority: Copyright Office, Library of Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. regulations, executive orders, and agency policies
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2023-03-16

Risk subdomain coverage

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Loss of human agency and autonomy
• Economic and cultural devaluation of human effort

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of risk domains, primarily addressing intellectual property and creative work attribution issues rather than AI safety or harm prevention. It touches on authorship and human creative control (related to 5.2 and 6.3) but does not substantively address the risks described in most MIT taxonomy subdomains.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Information
• Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Professional & Technical Services
• Educational Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document governs copyright registration practices across multiple creative and information sectors. It has strongest coverage of Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation; Information (publishing, media); and Professional and Technical Services. The guidance applies to any sector where copyright registration is sought for works containing AI-generated content.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding policy statement from a federal regulatory agency (U.S. Copyright Office) that establishes mandatory requirements for copyright registration applications and has enforcement mechanisms including registration cancellation and loss of legal benefits.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The document is issued by the U.S. Copyright Office as a statement of policy, signed by the Register of Copyrights. The Office is explicitly identified as the federal agency tasked with administering the copyright registration system.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_User, Affected_Stakeholder
• Summary: The policy applies to anyone seeking to register works containing AI-generated material with the Copyright Office, including artists, authors, and other creators who use AI tools. It specifically addresses 'Individuals who use AI technology in creating a work' and various types of creators.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Copyright Office has authority to examine applications, deny registrations, cancel registrations, and enforce disclosure requirements. Federal courts also have enforcement authority under section 411(b) of the Copyright Act.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Copyright Office monitors and reviews copyright applications, examines claims for compliance, and tracks developments in AI and copyright. The Office has examination staff and a Review Board that reviews appeals.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Build and Use Model
• Deploy

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document does not focus on AI development lifecycle stages but rather on the registration and legal treatment of outputs from AI systems. It addresses the use and deployment of AI-generated content in creative works, particularly concerning copyright registration requirements. The document is output-focused rather than development-focused.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Systems
• Generative AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI technology, AI-generated material, and generative AI. It discusses AI systems that generate textual, visual, and audio content. It does not use specific technical terms like 'AI models,' 'foundation models,' or 'compute thresholds,' but focuses on the functional capabilities of AI technologies to generate creative content.