Copyright Office - Copyright and Artificial Intelligence

The Center for AI and Digital Policy supports the Notice of Inquiry concerning Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, announced by the US Copyright Office on August 30, 2023. We intend to submit comments. In advance of the deadline, we offer several recommendations to commentators.

• Read carefully the Notice of Inquiry. Understand the context and the type of information that the Copyright Office is seeking from the public. (And a note to the Copyright Office: a simple summary of the Notice of Inquiry will assist those who are interested in providing comments!)
• Learn about the Copyright Office's prior work on AI policy. The Copyright Office  has already undertaken several important initiatives on Artificial Intelligence. (Look at the listings above). You may be able to reference this earlier work of the Copyright Office in support of your recommendations.
• Answer the questions that are most relevant to your work and expertise. It is not necessary to answer all of the questions
• Write clearly and directly. Short, simple statements are often the most effective.
• Provide evidence. If you make a factual claim, include a citation to a report, article, or study to support your point.
• Make concrete recommendations. If you have a specific recommendation for the Copyright Office, state it.
• Keep a copy of your comments. Managing the federal portal for agency comments is not easy. The best strategy is often to prepare your comments in advance and then cut and past the sections into the form,
• Evaluate the outcome. You were asked by a public agency for your views. You took time to prepare a response. You should expect the agency to consider your comments. The agency may not agree with you, but you are entitled to a "reasoned response" to your recommendations.

Good luck!

Here are few key points about the Copyright Office Notice of Inquiry concerning Artificial Intelligence:

• The United States Copyright Office is undertaking a study of the copyright law and policy issues raised by artificial intelligence (‘‘AI’’) systems.
• The purpose of the Notice is to collect factual information and views relevant to the copyright law and policy issues raised by recent advances in generative AI.
• The deadline for submission of pubic comments is October 18, 2023
• The creation of AI-generated material has raised important questions about the future of  creative industries and copyright protections.
• The Copyright Office's interest in computers and machine authorship is long-standing and began in 1965.
• The Office launched a comprehensive AI initiative in Spring 2023
• The Office has now identified several key issues
• • (1) the use of copyrighted works to train AI models;
  • (2) the copyrightability of material generated using AI systems;
  • (3) potential liability for infringing works generated using AI systems;
  • (4) the treatment of generative AI outputs that imitate the identity or style of human artists.
• There are many detailed questions in the Notice. It is not necessary to answer all of the questions
• Commentators are asked to provide the factual, legal, or policy basis for their responses
• Commenters are encouraged to explain any technical understandings that inform their legal and policy viewpoints.

Note: This is a brief summary of the Federal Register Notice. Please review the actual Notice for further information.