This week, Director Shira Perlmutter announced that the publication of part two of the U.S. Copyright Office’s three-part report on copyright issues surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) will be delayed further. In a letter addressed to the ranking members of the Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, Director Perlmutter explained that while “substantial progress had been made,” the Office will not be able to release part two by the end of 2024. Instead, the new expected publication date is “early 2025.”
Part two of the report will focus on the copyrightability of generative AI outputs, building upon part one, which covers digital replicas. Director Perlmutter further noted that, following the release of part two, the third and final part of the report would be published in the first quarter of 2025. This final section will address “analyzing the legal issues related to the ingestion of copyrighted works to train AI models, including licensing considerations and the allocation of potential liability.”