Intellectual Property Case Tracker

Generative AI and Copyright Protection: Thaler v. Permutter

Supreme Court declines to entertain argument that AI-created work eligible for copyright registration.

On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court denied Stephen Thaler’s petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court on his failed copyright application for a work of art generated entirely by artificial intelligence. The Copyright Office had previously denied his application for his AI-generated work of art because the Copyright Act requires works to be authored by humans. The District of Columbia district and circuit courts affirmed the Copyright Office’s decision, which prompted Mr. Thaler to turn to the Supreme Court for help.

Key Dates:

• March 2, 2026: The Supreme Court denies Thaler petition for certiorari.
• October 9, 2025: Thaler appeals circuit court decision to Supreme Court.
• March 18, 2025: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the district court’s decision.
• August 18, 2023: The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia grants the Copyright Office summary judgment, ruling that human authorship of works is required by the United States Constitution.
• June 2, 2022: Thaler sues the copyright register, claiming the Copyright Office’s decision is unconstitutional.
• November 3, 2019: Thaler submits his work “A Recent Entrance to Paradise” to the Copyright Office for a copyright registration.

Thaler v. Perlmutter, 130 F.4th 1039 (D.C. Cir. 2025)