AI, Copyright, and the Future of Creativity
What Educators and Librarians Need to Know.
This week, we’re diving into one of the most pressing issues in AI—copyright. As AI continues to generate content, educators, and librarians must stay informed about how copyright law applies to AI-created works. This newsletter will provide insights into copyright challenges, ethical concerns, and tools to help you navigate this evolving landscape.
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NotebookLM Deep Dive:
AI Tool of the Week: Copyright Alliance Copyright Alliance is a valuable resource for understanding the intersection of AI and copyright law. Their platform provides educational materials, legal updates, and advocacy efforts to protect the rights of content creators. Whether you're curious about AI’s impact on fair use or seeking guidance on intellectual property issues, this site is a must-visit.
Why Should Educators, Students, and Librarians Use This Tool?
Stay Legally Informed: With AI rapidly changing the landscape of content creation, understanding the legal framework is essential for teachers and librarians guiding students in research and creative projects.
Support Ethical Use of AI: The site offers guidelines to help students and educators navigate AI-generated works responsibly, ensuring compliance with copyright laws and ethical considerations.
Advocate for Intellectual Property Rights: By staying informed, educators and librarians can advocate for policies that protect human creators while leveraging AI’s potential for education.
Use Practical Resources: The Copyright Alliance provides templates, FAQs, and case studies that can be directly applied in classrooms and libraries to educate students on copyright challenges in the digital age.
Lesson Plan: Understanding Copyright in AI-Generated Content Objective: Help students critically examine AI-generated works, assess their copyrightability, and understand the ethical implications of AI-generated content.
Warm-up Discussion: Begin with an open discussion: “Who owns AI-generated content? Should AI be given credit for creative works?” Provide a brief explanation of copyright laws and their application to AI-generated material.
Exploration Activity: Have students explore an AI tool that generates text or images, such as ChatGPT or DALL·E. Ask them to create a piece of AI-generated content based on a specific prompt.
Legal Research & Analysis: Assign small groups to research cases where AI-generated content has been subject to copyright claims. Provide students with legal summaries or allow them to explore resources like the Copyright Alliance.
Hands-on Evaluation: Have students apply the principles of copyright law to determine whether their AI-generated content would qualify for protection under U.S. law. Ask them to justify their reasoning.
Class Debate: Divide the class into two groups—one arguing for copyright protection of AI-generated works and the other arguing against it. Encourage them to use their research to support their arguments.
Reflection & Application: Ask students to write a short reflection or presentation on what they learned and how AI-generated content impacts creative industries, education, and law.
Extension Activity: Students can explore how different countries address AI and copyright, comparing international policies and discussing their potential implications for global intellectual property rights.
AI Ethics Corner: Who Owns AI-Generated Content? This week, we’re highlighting the U.S. Copyright Office’s 2025 Report on Copyright and AI, Part 2: Copyrightability. This report is a crucial resource for understanding the legal framework surrounding AI-generated content and its copyright implications. The report outlines:
The importance of human authorship and why AI-generated works currently do not qualify for copyright protection under existing U.S. law.
Legal considerations regarding AI-assisted creations and how human involvement impacts copyright eligibility.
The international perspective, analyzing how different countries are approaching AI-generated content and copyright regulation.
Policy implications, including discussions on whether new laws are needed to adapt to AI’s role in content creation and the potential effects on human creativity and intellectual property rights.
Understanding this report is essential for educators and librarians who guide students in ethical content creation. It provides clarity on what is legally permissible, ensuring that AI is used responsibly while upholding the rights of human creators.
AI Reading List For those looking to explore AI and copyright issues further, check out these insightful readings:
Generative AI Is a Crisis for Copyright Law – A deep dive into how AI is reshaping copyright laws and creative industries.
Artificial Intelligence Impacts on Copyright Law – Examines whether AI-created works are protectable under current copyright law.
Consent and Compensation: Resolving Generative AI's Copyright Crisis – Explores the ethical dilemmas of AI-generated content and fair compensation for creators.
Final Thoughts
Copyright law is rapidly evolving in response to AI advancements. As educators and librarians, staying informed about these changes is essential. If you have questions or thoughts on this topic, let’s keep the conversation going!
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That sounds good really interesting. I am going to subscribe and restack it! Thanks for letting me know. Feel free to put the link in the comments in case others want to join.
Hey! Nice article/resource. I’m also writing on Substack about AI and copyright issues but over in the UK. This week’s blog may be of interest to you as a top UK copyright lawyer is warning the UK Government’s controversial measures to allow firms to use AI to train models without a licence could break international law, specifically, The Berne Convention. The UK and the US are both signatories of this law.