Have you ever used AI to write, create, or compose?
The big question is, who owns the content – the AI or you?
Read on to unravel the world of copyrights for AI-generated content
How copyright works?
Picture this: you’re a modern-day Van Gogh, and you’ve just painted a masterpiece like ‘The Starry Night.’ You share it online, and it goes viral! But, now you worry about copycats making money off your hard work without giving you credit. What can you do?
Fear not! International copyright law automatically protects any original art you create. No one can profit from your ‘Starry Night’ without your permission. Some countries even let you register your work with the local copyright office, providing extra protection against copying.
You paint it, you own it – simple, right?
AI content ownership
Now Imagine this, you use an AI tool to create an image inspired by Van Gogh’s style. The AI helps with your prompts and learns from Van Gogh’s works online. But, are you still the sole copyright owner?
Here’s the twist – copyright laws for AI-generated content are still a bit blurry.
Stick around as we will break it down for you soon.
But first, let’s check out some popular AI tools and their ownership terms:
Midjourney, the hottest image generation tool, treats it’s free and paid users differently. Paid users own the content and can use it for any purpose, even to make money! whereas free users don’t have similar rights! But if you’re generating images using Midjourney prompts for a million-dollar company, you need to be a ‘Pro’ or ‘Mega’ subscriber to be able to commercially use the images.
On the flip side, Open AI’s Dall E and ChatGPT keep things straightforward. Whether you’re a paid user or not, you own the content you create – no strings attached!
Now, onto music – a trickier domain in terms of ownership and copyright.
Around 70% of the world’s music belongs to just three record labels. AI tools learning from internet music need to pay hefty royalties to these companies.
That’s why musicLM, which learns from copyrighted music online, doesn’t allow downloads or commercial use. But don’t fret! With beatoven.ai, you can generate royalty-free music at no cost!
Create music on beatoven.ai, and you’ll get a perpetual licence to use it in your videos, podcasts, and games. You can even monetize your content featuring the generated music. Just remember, you won’t fully own the music, so you can’t distribute it on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music for profit.
Copyright laws for AI content
Now, let’s face the elephant in the room. Can you protect your AI-generated content with copyright?
The answer’s a bit hazy. It depends on where you live.
Copyright laws for AI content vary globally. While the UK provides protection, prominent jurisdictions like the EU, USA, and India don’t recognize rights for AI-generated work.
In a unique case, an AI-generated comic book, ‘Zarya of the Dawn,’ was denied a copyright claim in the US due to the absence of a human creator.
So, if your AI-generated Van Gogh-inspired piece gets copied, legal help might be scarce.
However, just like any other invention, the copyright laws will mature with time. Till then, be sure to read the latest terms and conditions stated by the AI tools you use.
Conclusion
Keep those creative juices flowing and keep the spirit of AI and human collaboration alive! After all, AI is here to stay.
What are your thoughts and questions around copyright laws in the world of AI? Tell us in the comments of the video below.
