Steps to Copyright Your AI Generated Music

The rise of Chat GPT and other forms of AI has flooded our news feeds. With it, people what it can do with panic or amazement. Some say it will ruin society as we know it while others remain unfazed or hopeful. The music industry is not immune to the dawn of AI. If you are an artist looking to use AI to help produce new songs, you are probably wondering whether you can copyright your work.

Even if you aren't a musician, this is something needing your attention. Music is used across many different areas. Examples include video games, movies, advertisements, and vlogs. Knowing the rights of the original artists will save you from legal trouble and protect your reputation. If you are an artist, you will want to know whether AI will stop you from reaping the rewards of your hard work. Keep reading to learn how you can protect yourself from a copyright disaster.

Can AI-Generated Music Be Copyrighted?

Copyright explicitly protects humans and was never made to protect non-humans. U.S copyright laws only protect creative works created by humans. This means AI-generated works are not covered. You might have heard about the monkey copyright case when PETA filed a lawsuit against David John Slater, a photographer who left his camera near a group of monkeys. Although courts ruled in favor of Slater, the case raised concerns about how non-human creative works should be copyrighted.

Artificial intelligence can not make copyright claims, but humans using it to help them may. David Slater didn't take the photo of the monkey, but he set up his equipment to allow the monkey to take it. In other cases of music and other creations, courts granted artists copyright ownership if substantial human effort was put into production according to an article by billboard.com. The mentioned article tells about a few cases when people were granted copyright when using AI. If you plan to use AI, you should remember that the law is not prepared for the changing rate of technology.

How to Copyright Your Computer-Generated Songs

It's your choice whether you will use the new technology or not. However, the laws dictating your rights are not in your control. Regarding music, your work is already copyrighted from the time you wrote or recorded it. Registering with the U.S Copyright Office gives you the right to pursue someone in federal court in the case of infringement. It also creates a public record that you are the owner of the work.

Registration requires an application, a filing fee, and a copy of the work. There are three types of applications you could file according to the website of the U.S Copyright Office:

1. Standard Application: for individual sound recordings or musical works

2. Group Registration of Unpublished Works: for up to ten works by the same author if that author is claiming the copyright.

3. Group Registration of works on an Album of Music: for up to twenty works if they were made by the same author or have at least one common author. The owner of the copyright must be the same.

With AI, the process doesn't change, but courts are undecided on how it should affect copyright. Either way, it is important to stay informed on the latest trends in tech.

Will Deepfakes Take Over Music?

As stated above, a song completely created by AI can not be copyrighted. At the same time, what happens if your contribution is indirect? According to an article by msn.com, a deepfake featuring Drake singing with The Weeknd went viral. Neither artist gave consent for the use of their voices. Although you are most likely not a famous artist, this should be a concern.

What if someone uses your voice for a deepfake? Will you benefit from it? If you are a marketer or game designer, will you be able to use your favorite singer's voice in your work? Performers don't mind fans using their work for personal use. The problem comes when profits are made at the expense of the artist.

In fact, Google and Universal Music are already discussing how to allow fans to create music with AI-generated voices. Will this crowd out the real musicians? That is yet to be seen. AI has already written poems which means it can also write song lyrics. Perhaps artists could get royalties for participating in this new AI generation?

Either way, the law has yet to catch up with the new technology, but innovation also has the capacity to open new doors. Technology always has two advantages: lower costs and faster production. The next generation of music could be a dystopia where everything is robotic or it could make the workdays of an artist better. What are your thoughts? All we can do is wait and see.