On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Thaler v. Perlmutter, 130 F.4th 1039 (D.C. Cir. 2025), leaving undisturbed the D.C. Circuit's 2025 ruling that copyright protection demands human authorship. The case centered on "A Recent Entrance to Paradise," a visual artwork generated solely by Dr. Stephen Thaler's AI system, DABUS, without human prompts, edits, or alterations. Thaler named the AI as the sole author, explicitly disclaiming any human creative contribution; the Copyright Office rejected it for lacking human authorship, and courts concurred, 687 F. Supp. 3d 140 (D.D.C. 2023).

Parallels Across IP Regimes

This copyright jurisprudence parallels recent patent decisions:

  • Human contribution is now uniformly required across IP regimes. The Federal Circuit set this standard for patent inventorship in Thaler v. Vidal, 43 F.4th 1207 (Fed. Cir. 2022), using the same AI and plaintiff. The D.C. Circuit echoed this decision for copyright authorship.
  • USPTO's November 2025 revised guidance rescinded prior rules, reaffirming no separate standard for AI-assisted inventions: AI can't be an inventor, but humans can leverage AI tools if said humans contribute significantly to conception.
  • Boundaries of "sufficient" human input remain fuzzy. The U.S. Copyright Office's January 2025 report noted prompts alone often fall short, lacking control. Pending Allen v. Perlmutter, No. 1:24-cv-02665 (D. Colo.) — involving over 600 iterative prompts — could clarify thresholds. Notably, courts in Thaler emphasized that AI-assisted works with meaningful human involvement (e.g., creative direction or refinement) may qualify for protection, distinguishing such works from purely autonomous AI outputs.

Practical Implications for Innovators

For innovators using AI in R&D, robust documentation of human contributions remains essential for securing patents and copyrights. For tech and life sciences companies, early records of conception and refinement mitigate risks and strengthen IP portfolios.

Read more from Richard Assmus, Brian Nolan, and Megan Fitzgerald at Mayer Brown: https://lnkd.in/eKqYEtUd