HLS Beyond presents: Copyright in AI Outputs: Who Owns AI-Created Works?

Generative AI can produce striking images and polished text in seconds, but copyright still turns on a basic question: Did a human author do enough? At this panel discussion, HLS Professors Bavitz and Tushnet along with BU Law School Professor, Jessica Silbey will discuss the copyright issues implicated by Generative Artificial Intelligence tools and training of large language models, focusing on the copyright status of AI outputs.  The Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny certiorari Thaler v. Perlmutter lets stand the D.C. Circuit’s decision, which in turn endorsed the Copyright Office’s decision not to issue a registration to computer-generated artwork.  The panelists will unpack questions about human authorship and originality and how those requirements apply to AI-assisted outputs. They will map the core legal arguments about whether a “prompter” can ever qualify as an author, what kinds of human contributions might support protection, and what questions remain open for courts, the Copyright Office, and Congress Registration Required. Lunch will be provided.