AI and Copyright: Who Owns the Work?

The time that an algorithm has painted better than me

I still remember when I saw for the first time an image created by the FROM-E. it Was so beautiful, so detailed, that for a moment I thought: “And now what do I do? If a car paints as well, which is the sense that it continues I?”

That feeling of displacement felt by every day, thousands of artists, writers, and musicians. Artificial intelligence no longer content to calculate or organize your data: now create. And when it creates, is a question that we never had to face before: who is really that work?

When the machines have learned to dream

It is not science fiction. It is the present that we are living in. The AI now knows how to do things that until recently seemed impossible:

• FROM-AND turn your words into the images that seem to come from the mind of an artist
• Midjourney create fantastic landscapes that do not exist anywhere
• ChatGPT he writes poems that make you shudder
• AIVA he composed music that could be played at the Scala

But here's the point: if an algorithm paints a picture that it makes you weep, who owns the rights? You who have written to the prompt? The company that created the AI? Or perhaps... none?

The dilemma is that it keeps you awake lawyers, and artists

The question is not as simple as it seems

Imagine this scene: you are a graphic artist, you are working on an important project. You decide to use AI to generate some images of the base, then change it, any suitable, we add your personal touch.

The final result is your own? The answer should be yes, no?

Now, let's change the scenario: take the same algorithm, write “draw a romantic sunset”, the AI generates a beautiful image without any other action. Who is this time?

Here is where everything gets complicated.

The art of ambiguity

Traditional copyright is born when “create” meant only one thing: a human being who uses his ingenuity to produce something original. The legislators of a hundred years ago could not have imagined that one day we had to ask ourselves if a machine can be “creative”.

And so we find ourselves with laws that make it difficult to keep pace with the reality. It's like driving a car in 2024 with the code of the road of the early Twentieth century.

As they are seeing in the world

United states: “Only humans are able to create”

The americans have taken a position on this quite clear: the works created entirely by the AI cannot have copyright. Point. If there is a human contribution is significant, the work ends in the public domain.

TheUS Copyright Office he has published specific guidelines which clearly establish these principles. It seems simple, but then comes the question from a million dollars: what it means to “human contribution significant? Write a prompt detailed counts? And if you change the result? And if you spend over hours to refine it?

Europe: the path of compromise

We europeans, as usual, we are looking for the quadrature of the circle. We want to protect the artists, but also do not hamper innovation. The result? A complex debate that touches on everything from copyright law to the rights of the dataset, from the compensation for the artists original to the transparency of the algorithms.

TheAI Act for europe is addressing these challenges with an approach more nuanced compared to the USA.

Is it a mess? Yes. But casino is a must.

China: pragmatism pure

The chinese, with their practical approach, are saying: “If it has economic value, it should be protected”. No matter who or what created it. An interesting approach, which puts the economy first philosophy.

What that means to those who create it (really)

The fear is understandable

Let's be clear: if you're an illustrator and you see that an AI can create in 30 seconds what you takes hours, it is normal to feel threatened. It is not only an economic issue, it is existential. What it means to be human in a world where machines can do art?

We have already explored this tension in our article on IA and creative work, where we have seen how many professionals are facing this challenge.

But there is also the other side of the coin

The IA can become your best assistant. Think of a musician who uses the AI to explore harmonies that you would never have imagined, or a writer who uses it to overcome creative block. It is not replacement, amplification.

The key is to learn how to collaborate, not to compete. As we have explained in the article AI as Artist: Friend or Foe to Human Creativity?, the future probably belongs to those who know how to integrate artificial intelligence in their creative process.

Stories from the front: when theory and reality collide

The case to discuss all

In 2022, Jason Allen has won an art competition with a work created using Midjourney. The title? “Théâtre D'opéra Spatial”. Beautiful, charming, and winning.

The problem? Other artists have felt robbed. “That's not fair,” they said. “He has only written a few words, the AI did the rest.”

But Allen replied: “I spent weeks perfecting the prompt, I've done hundreds of iterations, I have selected and edited the final result.”

Who is right? Both, probably. And this is exactly the problem.

The legal battle that will change everything

Stability TO, the company behind the Stable Diffusion, is under process. The charge? You have used a million images copyrighted to train their AI, without asking permission.

It is as if someone had photographed all the paintings of the Louvre to teach painting at a robot, without paying a penny to the original artists.

The verdict of this process could redefine everything. Literally. You can follow the developments of this case on Ars Technica.

What awaits us tomorrow

New rules for a new world

We are likely to see the birth of:

• Special licenses for the dataset of training
• Royalties automatic for the artists whose works are “designed” by the IA
• Required label (s) that say “made with IA”
• Right to say no for those who does not want his work to be used

The art will become more democratic?

There are those who say that the AI will democratize creativity. Anyone can create art, even without years of training. Others fear that it will destroy the value of human art.

The truth, as always, probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Tips to survive in the era of the IA creative

If you're a creative

• Documents the whole: keep track of your creative process, especially when using the AI
• Invest in your uniqueness: develops the one that only you know how to do
• Learn how to work- the AI can be your best tool, if you know how to use it
• Stay informed: the rules change in a hurry

Take a look at our 5 tools of artificial intelligence that you can use immediately to begin to become familiar with these technologies.

If you have a company

• Be transparent: when using the AI, say it clearly
• Invest in legal advice: prevention is better than cure
• Respect the rights of others: just because you can does not mean that you have to
• Think long-term: shortcuts today could cost you dearly tomorrow

The human side of a technological revolution

Let's not forget that behind every algorithm there are people. People who have invested years of their life to learn how to create, people who live their talent, people who see the world through different eyes, and we get the story through art.

When we talk about copyright in the age of AI, we're not talking about paragraphs legal. We are trying to decide what kind of society we want to be. A society that values human creativity, or that he considered it superfluous?

These are the same questions that we asked in our exploration on theethics of artificial intelligence: how to balance technological progress and human values?

What we can do, together

The answer will be found in the courts, or in the halls of parliament. The find in dialog box, in the confrontation, mutual listening.

Artists and technologists need to talk to each other. The former can explain what it really means to create, the latter can show the potential of the technology.

Legislators and citizens must work together. The law may not be top-down, must come from an understanding of the real needs.

We all have to stay human. In an increasingly automated world, our humanity becomes our most precious asset.

The road in front of us

I have no definitive answer. You can't have, no, not in this moment. We are writing the story in real time, and we still don't know how it will end.

What I do know is that the future of creativity will not be a battle between humans and machines. It will be a complex dance, made up of collaboration, voltage, and discovery.

The AI will not replace artists. But the artists who know how to use the AI could replace those who do not know how to use it.

And maybe, in the end, we discover that the real question was not “who is the work?” but “what makes a really ours?”

To further investigate these issues, I recommend that you also read the report of the The World Intellectual Property Organization on IA, and intellectual property.

Three things to keep in mind:

• The copyright in the age of AI is yet to be defined
• The contribution of human remains central, but must be re-evaluated
• The future is built together, listening to them and rispettandoci

And what do you think? Have you ever used the AI to create something? How did you feel? Raccontamelo in the comments.