Your Imagination, Your Rights - Copyright in the Age of AI
Mythoria is a powerful creative tool — but it’s still a tool. The story, the choices, and the voice are yours. This article explains who owns what when AI helps you write and how to work with Mythoria so your book remains your original work. Bottom line: Mythoria helps you draft and polish; you supply the vision, direction, and final edits. ✍️✨
🏛️ The Foundation: Human Authorship and Creative Control
Historically, copyright law is built on the principle that protection is granted exclusively to works that are the product of human creativity.
In the United States, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) has consistently affirmed that the term "author" inherently excludes non-humans. Works created autonomously by machines or without creative human input do not qualify for protection. Famous cases, like the monkey selfie copyright dispute, have upheld this position, deeming such works unprotected.
This means that AI-generated output, by itself, generally isn't copyrightable. When an AI technology is given only a simple text prompt and then produces complex works, the "traditional elements of authorship" are determined and executed by the technology—not the human user.
According to the USCO, "AI systems are unpredictable," and even complex prompts may not grant sufficient human control over the final creative expression generated by the AI.
✨ The Mythoria Difference: AI as a Creative Tool
However, the legal landscape shifts significantly when AI functions as an "assistive tool" for human creativity. This is where the Mythoria model stands out.
With Mythoria, you aren't simply typing "write a novel about X" and publishing the raw AI output. Instead, you provide the story's foundation, characters, scenes, and structure. This original outline, created by you, is protected by copyright law. The AI then uses your comprehensive vision to generate the actual text, which you can then edit and refine to perfectly match your style.
This process involves significant creative human input:
- ✍️ The context and core ideas (in text, voice, or image) serve as the foundational creative work.
- 🎭 You define the plot, graphic style (e.g., watercolors, anime), and target audience.
- 👥 You customize characters in detail, adding unique traits and experiences.
- 🔄 You engage in iterative prompting and extensive editing and revision.
This active involvement means you are selecting, arranging, and modifying the AI-generated material to a degree that makes the final result your original authored work. The USCO has stated that works combining human authorship with AI-generated content can be registered, with the human-authored aspects being protected.
"If the AI is generating based on your original story outline, characters, etc., then it's an unprotected derivative work of something that is copyrighted. Your outline is protected, since you, a presumed human, made it."
— Former copyright attorney
The Mythoria policy explicitly reflects this: usage and authorship rights are granted entirely to you. Our goal is to empower your creativity, not diminish it.
📚 The Source of AI Training Data and Its Controversy
One of the most pressing issues is the source of the data used to train AI models. Companies like OpenAI, Stability AI, and Google face allegations of using vast amounts of copyrighted material without permission.
Using these works for training may constitute copyright infringement. While AI companies often invoke the fair use defense, many experts consider these arguments "misguided," especially when the generated results directly compete with the original works.
To protect creators, solutions like opt-outs (allowing rights holders to refuse the use of their works for training) have been implemented, as seen in the EU Copyright Directive. However, the core issue remains: by using data from across the internet, AI output is inherently derivative.
🧠 AI Learning: Human-like, but Crucially Different
The AI "learning" process, in some ways, mirrors human creation. A painter is inspired by everything they have ever seen. AI does something similar, learning patterns from massive datasets.
However, the scale is fundamentally different. A human reads thousands of books in a lifetime; an AI can process millions instantly. The USCO argues that while humans retain "imperfect impressions," AI can create "perfect copies," which challenges a copyright premise based on human limitations. For legal purposes, the key remains human intervention and creative control.
🌍 A Global Perspective: Diverging Paths
The legal approach varies globally:
- 🇪🇺 European Union: AI-generated content may be copyrightable if human contribution is "significant." The EU AI Act requires transparency about training data.
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 considers the author of a "computer-generated work" to be "the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken."
- 🇨🇳 China: A Beijing court ruled in favor of copyright for an AI-generated image where the user demonstrated an extensive, iterative creative process.
- 🇯🇵 Japan: Guidelines consider "creative contributions that go beyond mere effort," looking at the specificity of instructions and the selection of results.
The global trend leans toward recognizing human direction as crucial for copyright protection.
🤔 The Evolving Landscape: Open Questions
The discussion is far from over. Many questions remain:
- How much human contribution is "sufficient"?
- How will laws adapt as AI becomes more sophisticated?
- What happens if AI generates content that is substantially similar to copyrighted works?
- Can AI ever possess true "intent" or "originality"?
At Mythoria, we believe your creative vision is paramount. By providing the ideas, shaping the narrative, and refining the result, you maintain your role as the author. We are committed to supporting your journey to publish a novel you are proud of, with your style and your story at the very center.