We know that Al works can also be original and have the conditions to be works. So who is the author of Al's work? Let's analyze it together this time.
1. Definition of author
In copyright law, an author is usually defined as the creator of a work, is the original owner of the work, and enjoys various rights to the work. Usually, the author is a natural person, but in some cases legal persons can also be considered authors.
For example, Article 11 of China's "Copyright Law" stipulates: "Copyright belongs to the author, unless otherwise stipulated in this law. The natural person who creates the work is the author . If the work is hosted by a legal person or an unincorporated organization, created on behalf of the legal person or an unincorporated organization, and for which the legal person or an unincorporated organization assumes responsibility, the legal person or an unincorporated organization is regarded as the author."
2. The nature of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is a tool that can generate various content based on preset algorithms and models, as well as input data. However, artificial intelligence is neither a natural person nor a legal person,
Therefore, under the system of my country's "Copyright Law", it is difficult for artificial intelligence to be regarded as the author.
3. The author problem of AI-generated content
The question of authorship of AI-generated content is a complex legal one.
On the one hand, artificial intelligence is a tool for generating these contents, but it is neither a natural person nor a legal person. Therefore, under the current "Copyright Law" system, it is difficult for artificial intelligence to be regarded as the author.
On the other hand, developers or users of AI may claim that they are the authors of such content, and developers of AI may claim that they own the copyright to such content because they created the algorithms and models that generated it. Users using artificial intelligence may also claim that they own the copyright to such content because they are the actual generators of it.
However, this needs to be judged according to the specific circumstances of the case and relevant laws. For example, in the case of Tencent, based on authorization, the authorized party is regarded as the author.
For details, refer to the court judgment: Judgment of Tencent v. Yingxun Copyright Infringement Case|AIGC Legal Cases
Then, when the current legal regulations do not have clear legal provisions on the copyright of AIGC works, the agreement signed between the developer of the large model and the user is very important for the ownership of the rights of the generated content.
Next, let’s analyze the midjourney service agreement with a relatively large impact and the service agreement of GPT’s OpenAl company.
midjourney service agreement agreement
The first is the midjourney service agreement, its interface is like this (translated into Chinese), the version we checked is the version on June 8, 2023:
Regarding the agreement on the rights of midjourney to use the images generated, it is mainly in the copyright and trademark section of Article 4 of the agreement
According to this part of the agreement, we can draw the following conclusions:
1. The paid members use the images generated by midjourney, and the ownership belongs to the member.
2. Companies with a total annual revenue of more than 1,000,000 US dollars use the midjourney service, and each user must buy a pro paid membership to ensure ownership of the generated images.
3. If you are not a paid member, the ownership belongs to midjourney, but you have the right to use it.
4. The images generated by paid members grant irrevocable copyright license to midjourney.
That is to say, according to this part, if midjourney paid members can obtain the copyright according to the laws of the region, then they can smoothly obtain the authorship according to the agreement. Of course, midjourney has the right to use it.
OpenAl terms of use agreement
The latest update date of the OpenAl terms of use is March 14, 2023, and the interface is as follows:
Regarding the agreement on the rights of the content generated by the use of OpenAl, it is mainly in Article 3 of the agreement
According to this clause, OpenAl transfers all rights to the output content to the user within the scope permitted by law, that is, the user owns the ownership .
Whether an AI can be considered an author is a complex legal issue involving fundamental principles of the Copyright Act, such as the authorship issue. Under the current "Copyright Law" system, it is difficult for artificial intelligence to be regarded as an author. Under the current circumstances, we can protect relevant rights according to the service agreement agreed by the big model. However, with the development of artificial intelligence technology, relevant legal regulations may change.