Governance and control

US Copyright Office requires human authorship for AI outputs

The Copyright Office concluded that generative-AI outputs receive copyright protection only where a human determines sufficient expressive elements, and that prompts alone do not establish authorship.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT · REVISION 1
AWAY FROM DOOM35confidence 98/100

Why it moved the index

The authoritative policy conclusion preserves a legal advantage for human creative control and limits ownership claims over autonomously generated expression. It interprets existing law rather than creating a new enforceable AI regime, so the magnitude is modest.

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Assessment history

  1. R1
    Away 35 · confidence 98

    New January 2025 national AI-authorship policy conclusion with no durable collision.

    12 Aug 2026