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71 Tul. L. Rev. 1675 (1996-1997)
Intellectual Property in the Era of the Creative Computer Program: Will the True Creator Please Stand Up

handle is hein.journals/tulr71 and id is 1695 raw text is: Intellectual Property in the Era of the Creative Computer Program: Will the True Creator Please Stand Up? Ralph D. Clifford Computer scientists, using artificial intelligence techniques such as neural networks, are enabling computers to independently create works that appear to qualifyforfederal intellectual property protection. In at least one case, the creator of this kind of program has registered its output, a series of musical compositions, under his name as author with the United States Copyright Office. Whether the output of the computer satisfies the statutory and constitutional requisites for protection is questionable, however The author of this Article argues that the output of an autonomously creative computer program cannot be protected under the current copyright and patent laws. Further, he will assert that the statutory infirmity cannot be cured, as this would violate the Patent and Copyright Clause of the Constitution. I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1676 II. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE CREATvITY MACHINE ............. 1677 lII. WHO CAN CLAIM THE INTLEcuAL PROPERTY R GmS ASSOCIATED WITH WORKS CREATED BY INDEPENDENTLY CREATIVE COMPurER PROGRAMS? .......................................... 1681 A. Copyright Law .................................................................. 1681 1. The Current Legal Requirements to Be an Author of a Work under the Copyright Law .......... 1682 2. The Current Legal Requirements that the Work Originate from an Author under the Copyright Law ........................................................................... 1686 a. Does the Use of a Compiler Affect Who Has the Right to Claim Copyright Protection in the Object Code? .................. 1688 b. Does the Use of Scott French's Rule- Based, Artificially Intelligent Book- , Associate Professor, Southern New England School of Law. Member of the Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York Bars, and a computer software consultant. I wish to thank Dr. Stephen Thaler of Imagination Engines, Inc. for his technical assistance in preparing this Article; Gordon Russell and his staff at the Southern New England School of Law library for tracking down endless materials needed to prepare this Article, and my colleagues at Southern New England, Irene Scharf and Michael Hillinger, for reviewing the draft of this Article. Most of all, I want to thank my wife for her support and clarifying questions as this Article was written. 1675

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