Controversial prize winner highlights a big problem with AI art

An AI-generated artwork named Théâtre D’opéra Spatial won a fine art competition but faces a copyright issue. Created via the Midjourney platform, the piece’s creator, Matthew Allen, indicated its origin, but the US Copyright Office rejected his attempt to copyright it. Despite Allen’s claims of substantial input, the office stated that human authorship is a prerequisite for copyright, allowing copyright only for specific parts edited in Photoshop. This decision might prompt artists using AI to make significant edits for human authorship. With legal battles ongoing, the Supreme Court might eventually rule on AI art copyright, impacting the future use of AI image generators. Allen intends to pursue the matter to the highest court.