3 Count: Inpainting Copyright

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1: This Company Got a Copyright for an Image Made Entirely With AI. Here’s How

First off today, Katelyn Chedraoui at CNet reports that the United States Copyright Office (USCO) has agreed to register an image created by an AI system, claiming that the human authors showed adequate creativity and input to complete the registration.

The USCO has taken a firm stance against granting copyright registrations to works solely created by AI systems. However, the AI company Invoke successfully registered an AI “painting” despite all the elements being created by an AI system.

According to the company, they used a technique known as “inpainting.” With inpainting, the human author generated the original image with AI but then highlighted various elements in the image and had the AI recreate those with a different prompt. Initially, the USCO declined the registration but reversed that decision after being presented with evidence of human involvement.

2: Sweden: IPTV Piracy Enquiry Welcomed

Next up today, Colin Mann at Advanced Television reports that the Swedish government has announced an enquiry on the topic of sports piracy and the best ways to curb it.

In Sweden, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) holds the broadcasting rights for its premiere soccer leagues. However, WBD claims that piracy has significantly hurt its bottom line and that Sweden is one of the worst countries for piracy in the European Union.

As such, WBD and others welcome this inquiry and hope it will solve the problem.

3: UH Law Center Alumni and Students Help Houston Artist Secure a Copyright Settlement Against Warner Bros. Discovery and TLC

Finally, today, a press release from the University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) states that the UHLC helped student and artist Sarah Welch when her mural, Commute, was used in an episode without her permission.

The mural was featured in the TV show Bad Hair Day. Initially, she sought just to be paid her licensing fee but none of the production companies involved would take responsibility. Along with students and advisors at the UHLC, the group filed a claim with the Copyright Claims Board (CCB).

The outcome was a “favorable” settlement for Banks, who said she is pleased to have had the help. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

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