College - Author 1
College of Liberal Arts
Department - Author 1
Journalism Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Journalism
Date
6-2025
Primary Advisor
Tony Prado, College of Liberal Arts, Journalism Department
Abstract/Summary
While pending cases like the New York Times’ case against OpenAI will be the first test for artificial intelligence (AI) in the copyright space, current copyright legislation inadequately answers questions regarding grey-area uses of generative AI in the creation of journalistic, creative, or academic works. The Copyright Office has established that copyright requires human authorship, but current legal definitions of authorship may include simple prompt writing as a form of authorship. This paper addresses the inadequacies of the current definitions of authorship, and proposes a new one that encompasses traditional definitions, the Copyright Office’s new motions addressing AI, and Christopher Buccafusco’s authorship theory. This paper also analyzes hypothetical situations involving common generative AI usage, and introduces a distinction between “exclusive” and “common” factual content to evaluate market harm under fair use. The paper concludes with a proposed guideline on how courts should navigate copyright disputes involving generative AI for visual and textual content.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/joursp/185