The U.S. Copyright Office just dropped new rules for AI-generated work.

The U.S. Copyright Office just declared that AI-generated content can’t be copyrighted. But if you’re a human using AI as your creative sidekick? There’s good news: your contributions still count.

• ChatGPT poem or Midjourney mural you prompted? If it’s 100% AI-made, it’s public domain fodder. Copyright protection requires meaningful human creativity something algorithms can’t claim (yet).
• Prompt engineering ≠ ownership
  Spent hours crafting the perfect AI prompt? Sorry, the Office compared this to “giving instructions to a chef.” You don’t own the AI’s output.
• Mixed human/AI content? Only your human-made parts are protected. Example: If you use AI-generated background music in your podcast, your script and edits are copyrighted—the music isn’t.

The Office says existing copyright policies work fine... for now. Cue the collective sigh of relief from artists and lawyers alike.

The Bottom Line

AI is a tool, not a collaborator—at least legally. As one Copyright Office rep put it: “You can’t copyright serendipity.”

So, creators: Keep those human fingerprints all over your work. The AI might be Creative, but for now, originality still has a heartbeat.