Courts still deny copyright to AI-only works
The D.C. Circuit's March 2025 Thaler ruling left open exactly how much human input is enough to qualify for protection
Here's the line that matters for you: a machine can't be the author, but a human using AI tools still can be. The courts haven't drawn the line on how much of your hand has to be in the work, so until they do, document your process. Prompts, edits, revisions, drafts — keep the paper trail that shows you steered the ship, because that's the argument USCO and the courts are actually listening for.
Why it matters to you: If you use AI in your creative process, the record you keep of your own human input may be what determines whether your work can be copyrighted at all.
This story ran in the Coral Wire edition of Wed, Sep 30 2026, when the Coral Index stood at 58/100 (Tailwinds building).
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