Who owns AI-generated content?

Who owns AI-generated content?

Though there are important exceptions, student journalists are usually considered the owners of the material they create. Ownership is important, of course, to use copyright law to prevent others from using or profiting from the materials without that owner’s permission.

The law has not really caught up to AI-generated content, however, and a clear, final answer to the ownership question remains elusive. The U.S. Copyright Office has rejected protection of AI-generated images (reminding us that “copyright can protect only material that is the product of human creativity”), though future litigation over these questions may change that.

Interestingly, at least for now, the most accurate answer regarding ownership may come straight from the ChatGPT horse’s mouth: “If you provide the input and prompts for the narrative I compose, you would likely be considered the author and owner of the resulting content. This is because you initiated the creative process and provided the direction for the narrative.” “Likely,” however, is the operative word because we have not yet arrived at a clear legal rule.