MPSE Chief Calls for Law Barring Copyright on AI-Generated Creative Output
The president of the Motion Picture Sound Editors argues that art is a human process and that reducing it to a prompt degrades creativity. He proposes legislation to deny copyright protection to works that are wholly or partly generated by AI from natural-language prompts, while allowing AI-assisted tools that enhance human-authored material. The op-ed urges lawmakers to act swiftly to safeguard the foundation of human artistic expression.
The proposal distinguishes between fully AI-generated content from natural-language prompts and AI tools that modify human-created material, with only the former targeted for copyright exclusion. The op-ed cites U.S. copyright law's requirement for human authorship and the Supreme Court's Feist decision as legal grounding.
The framework also addresses labeling requirements across visual, audio, and metadata formats, and seeks to prevent corporations from hiding AI usage under trade secret protections. Specific concerns include AI-generated scores, sound effects, voiceover, and deepfakes replacing human creative departments.
This proposal could reshape how AI-generated content is valued and distributed in entertainment. If adopted, studios might face financial disincentives for replacing human artists with prompted AI, potentially preserving jobs in creative departments. However, enforcement challenges around labeling and detection may limit practical impact, and the distinction between "prompted" and "assisted" AI use could prove difficult to define in real production workflows.