{"id":12906,"date":"2026-04-03T09:51:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T07:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evidency.io\/?p=12906"},"modified":"2026-04-03T09:51:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T07:51:40","slug":"copyright-ai-creation-proof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evidency.io\/en\/copyright-ai-creation-proof\/","title":{"rendered":"Copyright: how to evidence human authorship in AI-generated content"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copyright protection, in the spirit of the Berne Convention, is in principle not subject to formalities. In theory, registration is not required for the right to exist. The World Intellectual Property Organization summarises this principle by stating that protection \u201cis obtained automatically upon creation of a work, without the need for registration or compliance with any other formality\u201d, explicitly linking this to Article 5(2) of the Berne Convention[1].
However, this principle of automatic protection should not lead creators to complacency. The recurring difficulty in copyright law lies in proving the right. Traditionally, proof of priority has been a key element in its recognition. Today, because AI makes the boundary of human contribution more contestable, evidence plays an increased role in demonstrating the very existence of the right.
Even though the European Union has not yet settled the legal classification of certain AI outputs, other jurisdictions, as well as market practice, platforms, litigation and contractual negotiations, already require \u201ccreators\u201d to demonstrate what they have done, how they have done it, and where originality lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should also be recalled that, although under the logic of the Berne Convention copyright exists without formalities, this does not prevent US law, for example, from making certain procedural and financial advantages conditional upon registration.
For \u201cUnited States works\u201d, the statute establishes a precondition to bringing an action (\u201cno action \u2026 shall be instituted until preregistration or registration \u2026 has been made\u201d)[2]. Likewise, access to \u201cstatutory damages\u201d and \u201cattorney\u2019s fees\u201d is, in practice, precluded where infringement commences prior to registration (17 U.S.C. \u00a7 412)[3].
The issue is therefore not merely theoretical discussion of human authorship, but also the adoption of a litigation and commercial strategy, in which proper framing (what is claimed and what is excluded) may determine the value of protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under US law as currently applied by the US Copyright Office (\u201cUSCO\u201d or the \u201cOffice\u201d) and confirmed by the federal courts, a work is protectable under the Copyright Act only if it is authored by a human being. The US system refuses to recognise authorship where content is presented as created solely by a machine.
In this respect, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit confirmed, in Thaler, that where an application designates an AI as the sole author, the USCO may refuse registration, as the statute presupposes human authorship at the origin of the work.[4]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This US requirement does not mean that AI makes all protection impossible. It means that it is necessary to identify, and then to evidence, the human contribution within a process involving AI, referred to here as AI-assisted generated content.
The USCO formalised this approach in guidance published in March 2023. It states that where traditional elements of expression such as wording, choice of words, visual forms and composition are produced by the machine, the work lacks human authorship and will not be registered.
Conversely, an author may obtain protection for a mixed work, described as \u201ca compilation\u201d, where the human contribution is real and sufficiently creative, in particular through selection and arrangement or through substantial modifications.[5]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find the full article in Expertises magazine No. 520 \u2013 February 2026, \u201cQuand la justice hallucine\u201d:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.expertises.info\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Frame your AI-generated content: get in touch with Evidency\u2019s experts<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] (WIPO, \u201cCopyright Registration Systems\u201d, https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/en\/web\/copyright\/activities\/copyright-registration\/index) (See also Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/wipolex\/fr\/text\/283699)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] (17 U.S.C. \u00a7 411(a), https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/link\/uscode\/17\/411)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/17\/412<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] (United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Thaler v. Perlmutter, No. 23-5233, 18 March 2025, p. 9, https:\/\/media.cadc.uscourts.gov\/opinions\/docs\/2025\/03\/23-5233.pdf)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] (U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Registration Guidance: Works Containing Material Generated by Artificial Intelligence, 16 March 2023, pp. 4\u20135, https:\/\/www.copyright.gov\/ai\/ai_policy_guidance.pdf)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opinions, presentations, figures and estimates set forth on the website including in the blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. For legal advice you should contact a legal professional in your jurisdiction.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of any content on this website, including in this blog, for any commercial purposes, including resale, is prohibited, unless permission is first obtained from Evidency. Request for permission should state the purpose and the extent of the reproduction. For non-commercial purposes, all material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement is required, together with a link to this website.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copyright protection, in the spirit of the Berne Convention, is in principle not subject to formalities. In theory, registration is not required for the right to exist. The World Intellectual Property Organization summarises this principle by stating that protection \u201cis obtained automatically upon creation of a work, without the need for registration or compliance with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":246879328,"featured_media":12912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6495],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[6564],"class_list":["post-12906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulations","author-jean-a"],"acf":{"profil":"","bio":""},"yoast_head":"\nCopyright and AI: evidencing human authorship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How can human contribution in AI-generated content be evidenced? 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