Copyright Office: only meaningful human input earns protection

The U.S. Copyright Office published its report on the copyrightability of AI outputs, following the registration guidance it issued in 2023. Both reaffirm that copyright protection requires human authorship.

The report’s position is that AI-assisted works may qualify for protection, but only the portions with meaningful human creative input are eligible. The AI-generated remainder is not. For a mixed codebase, that is the line between what you can register and what you cannot.

This page reflects current U.S. copyright law and general international principles. It is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.