Statement submitting AI generated works
For some time Pictoright has been concerned with the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially where the risks of training generative AI on works of our affiliates are concerned. There are also more and more authors who are starting to work with generative AI. This means that we also occasionally get questions about whether our affiliates may submit work generated (in part) using AI for collective rights. This is a difficult question, also because the law on this is not yet so clear. A condition for giving up and receiving compensation is, of course, that a work meets the copyright test for protection. To do so, a work must, among other things, be based on certain “creative choices” made by the author. So far it is unclear how this criterion is interpreted where AI is concerned (see also our FAQ on this subject: : Worden AI-creaties beschermd door het auteursrecht? – Pictoright).
Since there is no clarity at this time about the copyright on work that is (partially) AI generated, we want to leave this judgment to the person who submits. If you believe that certain creative choices were made in the creation of your work (for example in the prompt or post-processing) and the license agreement with the tool provider does not include anything otherwise, then this work can be submitted to Pictoright to claim collective rights. What is important here, however, is that the author should also be able to explain these choices upon request and possibly provide visual support if this work is picked out in the audit. So it is important to document your process well, from prompt to final product. In any case, the initial assessment lies with the author himself (as it does now when you submit a work).
Of course, this can always change when the law changes or is clarified. Developments in copyright and AI are moving incredibly fast, so it could be that Pictoright will eventually have to revise its position on this.