A year ago, a mind-blowing piece of AI art called Théâtre D’opéra Spatial took the art world by storm and won a prestigious competition. But now, the artist behind it is facing a major setback – he can’t copyright it! The artwork was created using a platform called Midjourney, which is known for its incredible AI art generation capabilities. The judges who awarded Théâtre D’opéra Spatial the top prize may not have realized that it was created using AI, but the US Copyright Office certainly did.
When Théâtre D’opéra Spatial won the digital art category at the Colorado State Fair, artists everywhere were appalled. The creator, Matthew Allen, had included a note on his entry indicating that it was made “via Midjourney,” but it seems the judges either overlooked or didn’t understand the significance of that detail. At the time, Midjourney was still a relatively new text-to-image generator, and its output had a distinctive style.
Despite the controversy, the judges stood by their decision, applauding the “great conversation” sparked by Théâtre D’opéra Spatial’s win. But now, Allen is attempting to copyright his groundbreaking artwork, and the US Copyright Office is having none of it. In its final decision, the office stated that human authorship is a necessary prerequisite for copyright, and that could have big implications for AI art generators.
Allen argued in his appeal that his creative input was an essential element in using Midjourney, claiming to have provided at least 624 text prompts before the generator produced the desired image. He also contended that his work should be protected under fair use doctrine because it transformed copyrighted material. However, the Copyright Office disagreed, stating that Allen could only copyright the specific parts of the work that he edited in Photoshop, not the entire image.
This decision raises some important questions for artists using AI. Will they need to make more significant edits to AI-generated images to establish human authorship? And if so, how many changes will be necessary? Allen is determined to fight this decision all the way to the Supreme Court, and he’s not alone. Another AI artist recently lost a similar copyright battle in a lower court, and it’s likely that the Supreme Court will have the final say on the matter.
In the meantime, if you’re not deterred by the legal complications surrounding AI art, be sure to check out our round-up of the best AI art tutorials. And tell us, what do you think about the copyright controversy surrounding Théâtre D’opéra Spatial and AI art? Should AI-generated works be eligible for copyright? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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