The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a district court ruling that affirmed the US Copyright Office’s (CO) denial of a copyright application for artwork created by artificial intelligence (AI), reaffirming that human authorship is necessary for copyright registration. Thaler v. Perlmutter, Case No. 23-5233 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 18, 2025) (Millett,
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Assessing Inputs: Determining AI’s Role in US Intellectual Property Protections
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued additional guidance on the contribution of artificial intelligence (AI) in its January 2025 AI Strategy. Similarly, the US Copyright Office issued part two of its “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence” report, addressing the copyrightability of AI- or partially AI-made works. Both agencies appear to be walking a fine…
Case Closed: OpenAI Prevails on Secondary Meaning
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction (PI) in a trademark action under the Lanham Act, stating that the district court’s ruling was not clearly erroneous based on its finding that the plaintiff had likely acquired secondary meaning in the mark. OpenAI, Inc. v.…
Data Mining for AI Systems Training Permitted Under German Law
By Paulina Simons & LL.M.
In a landmark decision, a German district court recently decided that copying images to create a data set that can potentially be used for training generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems does not infringe German copyright law. Robert Kneschke v. Large Scale Artificial Intelligence Open Network, Case No. GRUR-RS 2024, 25458 (Hamburg District Court Sept. 27,…
NO FAKES Act Would Create Individual Property Right to Control Digital Replicas
By Sarah Bro
On July 31, 2024, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act of 2024 to protect the voice and visual likeness rights of individuals from unauthorized use in the form of digital replicas, including digital replicas created by generative artificial intelligence (AI). The bill…
AI Takeover: PTO Issues More Patent Eligibility Guidance for AI Inventions
By Peter Brunovskis & PhD
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued a 2024 Guidance Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility, Including on Artificial Intelligence, which focuses on subject matter eligibility for artificial intelligence (AI)-based inventions. 89 Fed. Reg. 58128 (July 17, 2024). The new guidance is part of the PTO’s ongoing efforts since 2019 to provide clarity on…
PTO Reopens Comment Period for AI Inventorship Guidance
By Peter Brunovskis & PhD
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) reopened and extended until June 20, 2024, the period for public comment on the guidance regarding inventorship in applications involving artificial intelligence (AI) assisted inventions. The guidance was published on February 13, 2024, at 89 FR 10043. The PTO will also treat as timely any comments received between…
Senate Policy Roadmap Steers Generative AI Toward Transparency
In May 2024, the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group released a roadmap to guide artificial intelligence (AI) policy in several sectors of the US economy, including intellectual property (IP). The group, which includes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Todd Young (R-IN), acknowledged the competing interests of positioning…
Virtually Done: Computer Visualization Patents Are Ineligible for Protection
Addressing subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the district court’s finding that patents related to computer visualizations of medical scans were patent ineligible. AI Visualize, Inc. v. Nuance Communications, Inc., Case No. 22-2019 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 4, 2024) (Moore, Reyna, Hughes, JJ.) AI…
New Guidance Addresses Use of AI Systems, Tools in Practice Before the PTO
By Peter Brunovskis & PhD
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued new guidance on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in practice before the PTO. The new guidance is designed to promote responsible use of AI tools and provide suggestions for protecting practitioners and clients from misuse or harm resulting from their use. This guidance comes on…