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Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property

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Mapping Copyright’s Application to Generative Artificial Intelligence

September 29 | 9:30 - 4:30pm | Hybrid


Registration Requested
 

Modern copyright law arose when existing modes of regulation for information technology proved inadequate to meet the challenge of transformative information technology.  Over the last 200 years, by contrast, the copyright system has met other such challenges – from the rise of electronic mass media to the digital turn in expression, more or less successfully – often by adapting or even fictionalizing existing doctrine.  Now, we are asked to consider what adjustments may be required to accommodate Generative Artificial Intelligence, the next new technology to challenge the doctrinal paradigm of copyright. 

This program will explain and discuss the specific legal issues presented by generative artificial intelligence under US copyright law.

Agenda

9:00  Registration and Breakfast

9:30  Opening - Michael Carroll, Professor, American University Washington College of Law

9:45-10:30 - A Copyright-Relevant Primer on Generative AI 
Michael Carroll
Charles Duan, Assistant Professor, American University Washington College of Law 

10:30-10:45  Coffee 

10:45-11:15 Locating AI in the Copyright History and Doctrine - Core copyright concepts implicated in thinking about AI and how copyright has dealt with past technological challenges.
Peter Jaszi, Professor Emeritus, American University Washington College of Law 
Meredith Jacob,  Director, Project on Copyright and Open Licensing, Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, American University Washington College of Law

11:15-11:45  US Copyright Office AI initiative 
Robert J. Kasunic, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy and Practice, US Copyright Office 

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00 - 1:45  Doctrinal Mapping of AI - Ingestion - How the scope of copyright protection, the idea/expression distinction, fair use, and other copyright doctrines relate to machine learning and generative AI development.

         Moderator/Lead: Michael Carroll
         Discussant: Bernt Hugenholtz, Professor Emeritus, University of Amsterdam Faculty of Law
         Discussant: Brandon Butler, Director Intellectual Property and Licensing, University of Virginia Library

1:45-2:30  Doctrinal Mapping of AI - Authorship - How existing understandings of authorship, with its underlying model of human creativity, extend to the output of human/AI interactions.

        Lead: Carys Craig, Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
        Discussant: Seth Greenstein, Partner, Constantine Cannon
        Discussant: Christophe Geiger, Professor of Law, Luiss Guido Carli University, Rome

2:30-3:15  Doctrinal Mapping of AI - Authorship and Infringement - How the  laws and norms about infringement, substantial similarity, independent creation, and fair use will be and should be applied to the products of generative AI tools 

        Lead: Sy Damle, Partner, Latham & Watkins
        Discussant: Kristelia Garcia, Professor, The Georgetown University Law Center
        Discussant: Will Cross, Director, Open Knowledge Center & Head of Information Policy, NC State University Libraries

3:30-4:30  Going forward – law, policy, ethics, and norms

        Moderator: Meredith Jacob
        Panelist: Michael Madison, Professor, University of Pittsburgh, School of Law
        Panelist: Matthew Sag, Professor, Emory University Law School

4:30-6:00  Reception and Informal Discussion

Mapping Copyright's Application to Generative AI - AGENDA

Conference Attribution
This meeting and the Jaszi Distinguished Lecture are funded by the Washington College of Law, PIJIP Alumni, Microsoft, and other supporters of the PIJIP Impact Projects.