TheRetroArcade
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AI users will have to demonstrate sufficient human authorship if they want copyright protections for images generated from prompts.
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As reported Monday by Reuters, the US Supreme Court has affirmed the US Copyright Office's stance that purely AI-generated images cannot be copyrighted, declining to hear a case brought by computer scientist Dr. Stephen Thaler, who for years has been seeking copyright protection for an AI-generated image titled "A Recent Entrance to Paradise."
You can see that image above, on account of it not being copyrighted.
The Copyright Office declined Thaler's initial request in 2022 because it said that the image didn't meet the requirement of "human authorship." Thaler appealed, but a federal court said the same thing. Now that the Supreme Court has turned the case away, there's no higher authority to appeal to in the US.
There's still wiggle room to be sorted out here, though. AI-generated images can be modified by hand, and thus become copyrightable. In 2025, the creator of AI image generation tool Invoke managed to secure copyright for an AI-generated image on the basis that it contained sufficient human authorship to qualify.
And this is all happening more or less on the honor system, because it is difficult to prove that an image was AI generated. In one instance, the Copyright Office learned after the fact that it had issued a registration to a comic book with AI generated images. The agency then issued a new registration maintaining copyright for the layout of the book and its story, but not the images themselves.
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Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.
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As reported Monday by Reuters, the US Supreme Court has affirmed the US Copyright Office's stance that purely AI-generated images cannot be copyrighted, declining to hear a case brought by computer scientist Dr. Stephen Thaler, who for years has been seeking copyright protection for an AI-generated image titled "A Recent Entrance to Paradise."
You can see that image above, on account of it not being copyrighted.
The Copyright Office declined Thaler's initial request in 2022 because it said that the image didn't meet the requirement of "human authorship." Thaler appealed, but a federal court said the same thing. Now that the Supreme Court has turned the case away, there's no higher authority to appeal to in the US.
There's still wiggle room to be sorted out here, though. AI-generated images can be modified by hand, and thus become copyrightable. In 2025, the creator of AI image generation tool Invoke managed to secure copyright for an AI-generated image on the basis that it contained sufficient human authorship to qualify.
And this is all happening more or less on the honor system, because it is difficult to prove that an image was AI generated. In one instance, the Copyright Office learned after the fact that it had issued a registration to a comic book with AI generated images. The agency then issued a new registration maintaining copyright for the layout of the book and its story, but not the images themselves.
2026 games: All the upcoming gamesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.
You must confirm your public display name before comment...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?