Washington – The Copyright Office has released a pre-publication version of the third and final part of its Copyright and Artificial Intelligence study, Part 3: Generative AI Training (Pre-publication), following the release of Part 1: Digital Replicas on July 31, 2024 and Part 2: Copyrightability on January 29, 2025. A final version of Part 3 is expected to be published soon.
The study stems from an executive order from the previous administration asking the Copyright Office and Patent & Trademark Office to make recommendations on the use of copyrighted works to train AI algorithms and copyright protections for AI-generated works, as well as on how to treat the use of AI during the invention process.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association submitted comments and reply comments with the Copyright Office regarding its AI and copyright study, explaining that existing U.S. copyright law is sufficient to address present issues regarding AI and copyright. CCIA also published a whitepaper outlining the basics of AI technology and recommending best practices for any new AI regulations.
CCIA has advocated for tech policy that advances innovation for over 50 years.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Matt Schruers:
“While CCIA appreciates the Copyright Office’s acknowledgement that AI training can qualify as an example of fair use, we remain concerned about a number of conclusions reached in the Report. Fair use is intended to balance the rights of creators with the public interest, but the Report repeatedly puts a thumb on the scale against the public interest. As just one example, the Copyright Office endorses an expansive theory of market harm for fair use purposes that would allow rightsholders to block any use that might have a general effect on the market for copyrighted works, even if it doesn’t impact the rightsholder themself.”
“As the Report acknowledges, critical decisions on the status of copyright and AI training are made by the courts, not by the Copyright Office.”
