Copyright Information: plain answers on copyright, from file sharing to AI
Copyright questions arrive at awkward moments: a letter from your internet provider, a takedown on a post, a teacher asking whether you wrote your essay, a book you want to publish after drafting it with an AI tool. This site answers those questions in plain English, shows the official source behind each answer, and tells you when the law is still unsettled.
- 01Can I copyright something I made with AI?
- 02What does a copyright notice from my internet provider mean?
- 03What is fair use?
AI and copyright
In the United States, copyright protects human authorship. The pages here explain what that means for things you make with AI, what the Copyright Office has said, and how training and disclosure work.
- 01Can you copyright AI-generated content?Reviewed 30 Oct 2026In the US only human authorship is protected
- 02Who owns AI-generated content?Reviewed 30 Oct 2026What AI tools' terms of use assign to you, why that is not the same as copyright, and what that means for selling AI output
- 03What the US Copyright Office says about AI, in plain EnglishReviewed 30 Oct 2026What the US Copyright Office has said about AI: the 2023 registration guidance, the reports on copyrightability and training, and the human authorship rule
- 04Zarya of the Dawn: the comic that set the AI copyright ruleReviewed 30 Oct 2026Explained: why the Copyright Office in 2023 kept the comic's text and arrangement registered but cancelled the AI-generated images
Got a notice?
Three kinds arrive most often. Pick the one in your hand.
- 01A letter or email from your internet providerWhat it means and what to do
- 02A DMCA takedown on something you postedSend one, answer one, or counter it
- 03A claim about AI-made contentWhen the claim is about AI content
Read the notice slowly, keep a copy, and do not pay or reply in a hurry.
Credits:
copyright basics
The words that come up in every notice, and the guides written for the person holding it.
- Fair useWhat is fair use?The four factors
- TermsCopyright vs trademarkWhich protects what
- ParentsFor parentsA letter arrived about your teenager
- StudentsFor studentsYour essay, your notes, your sources
- TeachersFor teachersChoosing classroom material
- ListeningFinding movies, TV and music legallyWhere to look first
Six strikes, 2011 to 2017:
a short history
From 2011 to 2017 this domain hosted the Center for Copyright Information, which ran the Copyright Alert System with five US internet providers and the major music and film companies. We keep a neutral history of the program here.
- 2011July · Agreement signedThe Memorandum of Understanding
- 2013February · Alerts beginHow it launched
- 2014May · First progress reportWhat it reported
- 2017January · Program endsWhy it ended
How this site works
Every answer links the primary source: the statute, the court opinion or the Copyright Office document, with its date. Every page shows when it was last reviewed. This is general information, not legal advice; for a decision about your own situation, talk to a lawyer licensed where you live.
Written by the Copyright Information editors · About this site
Recently reviewed
Six pages checked most recently against their sources.
- Six strikes archiveWhy the Copyright Alert System ended in 2017, and what it taught30 Oct 2026
- Six strikes archiveWhat was a Copyright Alert? The six alert stages explained30 Oct 2026
- Six strikes archiveWrongly accused: how the six strikes independent review worked, and what replaced it30 Oct 2026
- Six strikes archiveWhat the Copyright Alert System reported: alerts, appeals and outcomes30 Oct 2026
- Six strikes archiveThe 2011 Memorandum of Understanding behind six strikes, in plain English30 Oct 2026
- Six strikes archiveHow the Copyright Alert System launched, 2011 to 201330 Oct 2026
Dates are the day each page last changed after a check against its sources.