The Big Misconception About AI and Copyright

Many people believe that any use of AI eliminates copyright protection. This is fundamentally wrong and contradicts actual legal precedent. //

Key Facts
🏛️ What Thaler v. Perlmutter Actually Said
The widely-cited Thaler case held that AI cannot be listed as the author on a copyright application. The court explicitly stated:

"We are not faced with the question of whether a work created with the assistance of AI is copyrightable."
This case addressed AI as sole author, NOT humans using AI tools.

📋 What the Copyright Office Says
From the January 2025 Copyrightability Report:

"Using AI as a tool to assist in the creative process does not render a work uncopyrightable."
The key requirement: human authors must determine "sufficient expressive elements."