Disclosing AI Use on Your Copyright Application: What to Write

AI tools are now part of everyday creative work, but copyright applications still depend on human authorship. In the latest U.S. Copyright Office annual report available in 2026, the Office reported receiving 510,003 copyright claims in FY 2025, registering 415,780, and receiving about 99% of applications electronically.

For creators using ChatGPT, AI image tools, or other software, the key filing question is simple: what did you create, and what did AI generate?

Do I Need to Disclose AI Use on a Copyright Application?

Yes, disclose AI use when the submitted work includes more-than-minimal AI-generated material. You do not need a long explanation for every support task, but you should be clear when AI-created expressive content appears in the final work.

Expressive content can include:

• Written passages

• Illustrations or images

• Music or sound effects

• Video or animation

• Artwork or design elements

• Scripts, poems, or marketing copy

For example, if AI only helped you brainstorm titles, there may be nothing to exclude. If AI-generated paragraphs or images appear in the final work, they should be identified.

What Counts as AI-Generated Content for Copyright Purposes?

AI-generated content is material produced by an AI system rather than a human author. The key question is whether the tool created the final expression or only helped your process.

AI-assisted work may still leave the person in control. AI-generated content usually means the tool produced words, visuals, audio, or other creative material that appears in the submitted work.

How Does the Copyright Office Treat AI-Generated Works?

The Copyright Office focuses on human authorship. Copyright protects original works created by people and fixed in a stable form. It does not protect ideas, systems, short phrases, or purely machine-generated expressions.

A mixed work may still include protectable human-created material. For example, a person might write a book and include AI-generated illustrations. The text may be claimable. The creative selection and arrangement may also matter. The illustrations may need to be excluded.

Your copyright application should claim the human contribution, not the AI output itself. The Copyright Office’s AI guidance explains this approach in detail.

How to Disclose AI Use in a Copyright Application

To disclose AI use in a copyright application, use the Standard Application, identify the human-authored material in “Author Created,” and exclude more-than-minimal AI-generated material in “Material Excluded.” Add a short “Note to Copyright Office” only if more context helps.

Keep the statement clear. You do not need to describe every prompt or software setting. You need to avoid claiming machine-generated content as human-created work.

What Should You Write in “Author Created”?

In “Author Created,” write what the person actually contributed. This is the most important field for showing human authorship.

Good wording examples include:

• “Text authored and edited by the claimant”

• “Human-authored text, selection, coordination, and arrangement”

• “Original photography, editing, and selection”

• “Human-authored revisions and arrangement”

• “Original illustrations and human-authored text”

Avoid vague entries such as:

• “Created with AI”

• “AI-assisted content”

• “Generated by ChatGPT”

• “AI and human collaboration”

• “Entire work,” if major parts were generated by AI

What Should You Write in “Material Excluded”?

In “Material Excluded,” identify the AI-generated content you are not claiming. This keeps your registration focused on protectable human authorship.

Examples include:

• “Text generated by artificial intelligence”

• “Images generated by artificial intelligence”

• “AI-generated illustrations”

• “AI-generated draft text”

• “Music generated by artificial intelligence”

• “Base image generated by artificial intelligence”

AI Copyright Disclosure Examples You Can Adapt

Use these examples as starting points. Adjust them to match your actual work.

Can I Copyright Content Made With ChatGPT?

You may be able to register content made with ChatGPT if the final work includes enough human authorship. You generally should not claim copyright in text that ChatGPT generated by itself and that you copied with little change.

If ChatGPT helped you brainstorm, outline, check grammar, or compare titles, your final human-written work may still be copyrightable. If it wrote the final article, chapter, script, or product description, disclose that output and claim only the parts you created.

Can AI-Generated Images Be Copyrighted?

AI-generated images are usually not copyrightable on their own when the expressive elements come from the AI system. A larger human-created work that includes those images may still qualify for a limited registration.

For example, a children’s book may include human-written text and AI-generated illustrations. The author may claim the text and, in some cases, the creative arrangement of the book. The images may need to be excluded.

If a designer significantly edits an AI-generated image, the human-made edits may be protectable if they are original enough. The claim would cover those edits, not the unchanged AI output.

Can I Register AI-Assisted Work With the Copyright Office?

Yes, AI-assisted work can often be registered when a person created the final expression. The Copyright Office recognizes that creators use tools. A writer may use grammar software. A photographer may use editing tools. A musician may use effects.

The question is creative control. Did the human decide the words, structure, edits, layout, arrangement, and final choices? Or did the AI system create the final expression?

If the human controlled the final work, describe that contribution. If AI-created material is included in the deposit, exclude that material where appropriate. For more detail, see the Copyright Office’s 2025 report: Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability.

Is There a 30% Rule for AI-Generated Content?

No, there is no fixed 30% rule for AI-generated content copyright registration. The Copyright Office looks at human authorship, not a simple percentage.

A small amount of meaningful AI-generated material may still need disclosure. A work with AI support throughout may still include enough human authorship if a person controlled the final expression.

Ask these questions before filing:

1. Did AI create final text, images, music, or artwork?
2. Did a person meaningfully revise, select, or arrange the work?
3. Can you separate human-authored parts from AI-generated parts?
4. Does the application claim only the human-created material?
5. Do your records show your creative decisions?

What Not to Write on a Copyright Application Involving AI

Avoid wording that hides AI use or claims more than the person created. Clear language is safer and easier to review.

Do not write:

• “Author: ChatGPT”

• “Author: artificial intelligence”

• “Entire work created by claimant,” if major parts were generated by AI

• “AI-assisted,” without explaining the human contribution

• “All content is original,” if the final work includes AI-generated text or images

• “No excluded material,” when the work includes meaningful AI output

Also, do not treat a public AI disclaimer as a substitute for a copyright application disclosure. A website disclaimer tells readers AI was used. A copyright application disclosure tells the Copyright Office what human-authored material you are claiming.

What If You Already Filed Without Disclosing AI Use?

If you already filed, first check whether the application described the human-created parts and excluded meaningful AI-generated material. If it did not, you may need to correct the record.

If the application is still pending, you can contact the Copyright Office and report the missing AI disclosure. If registration has already issued, a supplementary registration may be needed to correct or expand the record.

Save drafts, prompt notes, design files, edits, version history, and final review notes. These records can help show what the human author contributed.

Simple Checklist Before You File

Before filing a copyright application for AI-assisted or AI-generated work, review this checklist:

• Identify final content created by AI.

• Separate AI-generated material from human-authored material.

• Decide whether the AI-generated content is more than minimal.

• Use the Standard Application when the work includes AI-generated material.

• Describe human authorship in “Author Created.”

• Exclude AI-generated material in “Material Excluded.”

• Add a short “Note to Copyright Office” if needed.

• Save drafts, edits, prompt history, and final versions.

• Ask a qualified reviewer to check unclear AI contributions.

Conclusion

Disclosing AI use on your copyright application helps the claim match the work. If AI only helped with ideas, formatting, or edits, your work may still be mostly human-authored. If AI created final text, images, music, or other expressive material, disclose and exclude it when needed. The goal is simple: claim what a person created and keep records that show those choices.

Need Help Filing Your Copyright Application?

Trademark Engine’s copyright registration support can help you prepare and file a copyright application with the U.S. Copyright Office. This can be especially helpful when your work includes both human-created and AI-assisted elements.

You can also explore related resources on copyright registration for photographers and on how to protect your business from copyright infringement.