Jason Allen, 39, is a game designer who was the victor of the Colorado State Fair last year for his AI-generated work titled"Space Opera Theatre." He later sought to gain legal intellectual property rights for his work created with the AI software Midjourney but was denied his request by the U.S. Copyright Office.
While Allen said his attorney, Tamara Pester, believes he is"in the right" and said he's willing to argue his case all the way up to the Supreme Court if need be, a clear legal answer to this dispute is murky and has invoked conflicting opinions from major interest groups. Conversely, there’s ample support from attorneys specializing in unanswered technological legal questions who say AI generations can be protected under Section 230. Jess Miers, legal advocacy counsel at the Chamber of Progress, said AI services like ChatGPT would likely be protected, citing examples such as Section 230 allowing Google's auto-fill function for searches.