Can you copyright AI art?
Only in part. US copyright protects original works of human authorship, and the Copyright Office applies that rule to every application. An image produced by a generator in response to a text prompt has no human author in the Office's view, so it cannot be registered. What can be registered is whatever the human applicant actually created: an original drawing used as an input, a creative arrangement of several AI images, or substantial hand edits made afterwards.
The Office set this out in its registration guidance of March 16, 2023 and explained it at length in the Part 2 report on copyrightability published January 29, 2025. The courts have backed the underlying rule. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, the D.C. Circuit held in 2025 that the Copyright Act requires a human author, and the Supreme Court denied review on March 2, 2026.
What the Copyright Office allows
The Part 2 report identifies three ways a person can be the author of material in an AI-assisted work. In each case the registration covers the human contribution, and the AI-generated material is excluded from the claim.
Human selection and arrangement
A person who chooses AI-generated images and arranges them in a creative way can own a compilation copyright in that selection and arrangement. The leading example is the Office's February 21, 2023 decision on Zarya of the Dawn, a comic book by Kristina Kashtanova whose images were made with Midjourney. The Office cancelled the original registration and issued a narrower one covering the text Kashtanova wrote and the selection, coordination and arrangement of the text and images, but not the individual Midjourney images.
Human edits to AI images
Modifications a person makes to an AI image are protectable if they are creative enough to meet the ordinary originality standard. Painting over parts of an image, redrawing elements or compositing material by hand can all qualify. Minor or mechanical changes do not. The Office also accepts that a person's own expressive input, such as a sketch or photograph fed into the system, remains that person's work where it is perceptible in the output.
Can you copyright an AI generated image made from prompts?
Not under current Copyright Office practice. The Part 2 report concludes that prompts function as instructions to the system and do not give the user enough control over how the output is expressed, and that this remains true when a user writes long prompts or revises them many times. The same prompt can yield different images, and the system, not the user, decides how the idea is rendered.
That position is now in court. Jason Allen's image Théâtre D'opéra Spatial, made with Midjourney, was refused registration after Allen declined to disclaim the AI-generated material; the Review Board affirmed the refusal on September 5, 2023. Allen sued in Allen v. Perlmutter, No. 1:24-cv-02665 (D. Colo.). Allen says he revised his prompts at least 624 times. In its January 2026 cross-motion for summary judgment, the Office argues that those prompts were ideas, not control over the expression. Allen replied in February 2026, and no ruling had been reported as of November 9, 2026.
How to register a work that includes AI
The March 2023 guidance sets out the filing practice. In outline:
- Use the Standard Application, not the single-author application, if the work contains AI-generated material.
- Name only human authors. Do not list an AI system or company as an author of the AI-generated material.
- Describe your own contribution, such as the text, the selection and arrangement, or your modifications.
- Exclude the AI-generated material in the limitation of claim section, with a brief description.
Disclosing AI material
Disclosure is mandatory when the AI-generated material is more than de minimis. The guidance says applicants who filed earlier without disclosing AI material should correct the record, using a supplementary registration for an issued registration. The guidance warns that applicants who fail to correct the record may lose the benefits of the registration. The Office's AI page links the guidance and its webinar on the application process.
Are AI generated images copyright free?
The purely AI-generated parts of an image carry no US copyright, so copying them does not infringe anyone's copyright in that output. That does not make every AI image free to use. Four limits apply:
- Human-authored layers. If someone arranged or edited the image, their contribution is protected.
- Copied source material. An output that reproduces an existing copyrighted work, such as a recognisable character, can infringe that work regardless of how it was made.
- Trademarks and likeness. Logos, brand imagery and real people's faces raise trademark and right of publicity issues that copyright does not settle. See our guide to voice, likeness and publicity rights.
- Contract and foreign law. Generator terms of service and laws outside the US may treat the same image differently.
AI art registration decisions so far
The Office posts its key AI decisions on its AI page. The main ones involving images are below, with status as of November 9, 2026.
| Work | Decision | Date | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Recent Entrance to Paradise (Stephen Thaler) | Review Board refusal; D.C. Circuit affirmed | February 14, 2022; March 2025 | Refused; Supreme Court denied review March 2, 2026 |
| Zarya of the Dawn (Kristina Kashtanova) | Registration decision | February 21, 2023 | Text and arrangement registered; Midjourney images excluded |
| Théâtre D'opéra Spatial (Jason Allen) | Review Board refusal | September 5, 2023 | Refused; challenge pending in Allen v. Perlmutter |
| SURYAST (Ankit Sahni) | Review Board refusal | December 11, 2023 | Refused for lack of human authorship in the AI-generated expression |
For the doctrine behind these outcomes, read our analysis of authorship after Thaler and the broader rights hub.
If you generate an image from a prompt alone, you cannot register it, because the Copyright Office does not treat prompts as authorship. What you can protect is the human part: your own input art, your selection and arrangement, or substantial edits, as long as you disclose AI material that is more than de minimis. The Supreme Court left the human authorship rule in place on March 2, 2026.
What changed
- 2026-03-02: Supreme Court denied certiorari in Thaler v. Perlmutter, leaving the human authorship rule in place.
- 2025-03-18: D.C. Circuit affirmed the refusal to register A Recent Entrance to Paradise.
- 2025-01-29: Copyright Office published its Part 2 report, concluding prompts alone are not enough for authorship.
- 2023-12-11: Review Board refused registration of SURYAST.
- 2023-09-05: Review Board refused registration of Theatre D'opera Spatial.
- 2023-03-16: Copyright Office issued registration guidance for works containing AI-generated material.
- 2023-02-21: Zarya of the Dawn registration narrowed to the human-authored text and arrangement.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI art be copyrighted?
Not if it is generated entirely by the AI. The US Copyright Office registers only human authorship. You can register your own contribution to AI art, such as an original input drawing, a creative selection and arrangement of images, or substantial edits, with the AI-generated material excluded from the claim.
Are AI generated images copyright free?
The purely AI-generated parts have no US copyright, but that does not make the image free of all rights. Human edits or arrangements are protected, an output that copies an existing work can still infringe, and trademark, publicity and contract rules may still restrict how the image is used.
Can you copyright an AI image you edited?
Yes, to the extent of your edits. If your changes are creative enough to meet the originality standard, such as redrawing or painting over substantial parts, the Copyright Office will register them. The unedited AI-generated portions stay outside the claim and must be disclaimed.
Do you have to disclose AI when registering a copyright?
Yes, when the AI-generated material is more than de minimis. The March 2023 guidance requires applicants to identify and exclude AI material in the application and to correct earlier filings that left it out. Applicants who fail to correct the record may lose the benefits of the registration.
Sources
- US Copyright Office: Part 2 report, Copyrightability
- Federal Register: registration guidance for works containing AI-generated material
- US Copyright Office: Zarya of the Dawn decision
- US Copyright Office Review Board: Theatre D'opera Spatial
- US Copyright Office Review Board: SURYAST
- US Copyright Office: Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
- Mayer Brown: Supreme Court denies review in Thaler
- US Copyright Office: cross-motion for summary judgment in Allen v. Perlmutter
This page is journalism and commentary, not legal advice. AI law changes quickly; check the primary sources above and consult qualified counsel for your situation.