The Digester

Supreme Court declines to hear case on copyright for AI-generated art

Mar 3rd 2026

The Supreme Court left intact lower-court rulings that AI-created works without a human author are ineligible for U.S. copyright by declining to hear Stephen Thaler's appeal over art produced by his DABUS system.

  • Supreme Court refused to hear Stephen Thaler's appeal over an image produced by his AI system DABUS.
  • The U.S. Copyright Office denied Thaler's 2018 registration in 2022, saying a human creator is required for copyright.
  • A federal judge in 2023 and the D.C. Circuit in 2025 upheld the Copyright Office decision that human authorship is a bedrock requirement.
  • The court's refusal leaves the lower-court rulings and the Copyright Office's human authorship test in place for now.
  • The Copyright Office has also denied copyright claims for images generated with Midjourney, and Thaler previously lost related patent challenges.

Sources

cnbc.com