Copyright case: art by robot does not count
Copyright on your work? Then you really have to paint or make it yourself, according to a copyright case in the US.
It shouldn’t get any crazier in 2022. It is always said that robots are taking over the world, but for now they are being held back for a while. At least, in the field of art. There was a case in the US about something you probably never thought about.
art by robot
The facts: The one who wanted to apply for copyright was Steven Thaler. This artist developed an algorithm called Creativity Machine. This program can manipulate pre-programmed images to make them into a unique work of art. This is done by a robot, or artificial intelligence if you will. Unique work, but by a robot and not by a human. The latter is important.
Denied
For that reason, there can be no copyright on works of the Creativity Machine. There must be an aspect of the human brain and its expression in it. Because a robot or program has done the work, it is not there. Thaler added that his brain and its expression did do the work to make the algorithm work, but to no avail. There are no official rules yet, but references were made to previous cases where animals had made art. They were also denied for copyright.
The idea was therefore for Thaler to prove that copyright can be obtained on something that is not man-made. Essential details would deviate from a copy, which proves to Thaler that the algorithm works. He would like to protect that. But unfortunately the US Copyright Office says no. (via The Verge)
