The US Copyright Office has issued a notice of inquiry in the Federal Register on the intersection of copyright and artificial intelligence (AI).

This notice signals the Copyright Office’s continued interest in the questions raised by generative AI in the copyright space and offers an opportunity for stakeholders to provide feedback on whether legislative or regulatory steps would be justified. Comments are due by October 18, 2023. 

The Copyright Office has identified several key questions related to copyright law and AI systems, ranging from general to specific topics such as AI training, transparency, and disclosure, along with legal status and treatment of generative AI outputs. 

Through this inquiry, the Copyright Office’s goal is to gather diverse perspectives to inform its study on copyright law and policy issues raised by AI systems. 

The inquiry provides the public and stakeholders with an opportunity to contribute to the discussion on significant subjects, including: 

• The potential benefits and risks of AI technology, along with its impact on creators, copyright owners, technology developers, researchers, and the public.

• The types of copyright-protected training materials used to train AI models and methods used for their collection and curation. 

• Whether there are circumstances under which the unauthorized use of copyrighted works to train AI models should constitute fair use. 

• The requirements for developers of AI models with respect to collecting, retaining, and disclosing records regarding the materials used in training their models. 

• The determination of liability for copyright infringement arising from works generated using AI systems. 

By participating in this inquiry, interested parties can join the conversation on crucial topics and help influence the trajectory of copyright law in the AI landscape.