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Something I've been wondering: If I create a generator with 10 possible unique outputs, and each output is substantial enough such that it would qualify for co

Something I've been wondering: If I create a generator with 10 possible unique outputs, and each output is substantial enough such that it would qualify for copyright protection had I created it directly, do I have any copyright over the outputs of my generator by virtue of creating the generator itself? What if I build the generator but don't actually run it myself, and instead other people run it by clicking the "generate output" button? How about if my generator has a million possible unique outputs? Or ten trillion?

pavlov 11y ago
The first case is clear. The works are created by you, and the involvement of a tool of your own making has no effect on copyright. If you make a line-art generator program and print out 10 million sheets of paper filled with random scribbles, they are all copyrighted works by you, just not very interesting ones. The second case depends entirely on how you license the generator program. If you sell the generator and don't make an explicit claim over produced works, they are the copyright of the person who clicked the button. The act of creation doesn't have to be more complicated than that (after all taking a photo also involves just clicking a button).
- gabemart 11y ago
  > If you sell the generator and don't make an explicit claim over produced works, they are the copyright of the person who clicked the button. I'm not sure this would meet the "threshold of originality" standard [1]. The simple act of pushing a button can meet the requirement for "at least some minimal degree of creativity" (as in your example of taking a photo), but I don't think it would do so when there is no relationship between the manner or timing of the button push and the output of the tool. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_of_originality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_of_originality
  - pavlov 11y ago
    Most generators have a random component which is seeded from a timestamp. In that way, the user provides the creative input to the generator. If the generator doesn't randomize anything but just produces a preset sequence of outputs, that's different -- my feeling is that such a program's complete output is a single work by the program's author, since it's not affected by any external input.

pavlov 11y ago

The first case is clear. The works are created by you, and the involvement of a tool of your own making has no effect on copyright. If you make a line-art generator program and print out 10 million sheets of paper filled with random scribbles, they are all copyrighted works by you, just not very interesting ones. The second case depends entirely on how you license the generator program. If you sell the generator and don't make an explicit claim over produced works, they are the copyright of the person who clicked the button. The act of creation doesn't have to be more complicated than that (after all taking a photo also involves just clicking a button).

gabemart 11y ago
> If you sell the generator and don't make an explicit claim over produced works, they are the copyright of the person who clicked the button. I'm not sure this would meet the "threshold of originality" standard [1]. The simple act of pushing a button can meet the requirement for "at least some minimal degree of creativity" (as in your example of taking a photo), but I don't think it would do so when there is no relationship between the manner or timing of the button push and the output of the tool. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_of_originality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_of_originality
- pavlov 11y ago
  Most generators have a random component which is seeded from a timestamp. In that way, the user provides the creative input to the generator. If the generator doesn't randomize anything but just produces a preset sequence of outputs, that's different -- my feeling is that such a program's complete output is a single work by the program's author, since it's not affected by any external input.