In an interesting turn of events, the US Copyright office has ruled that music created solely and entirely by AI can not be subject to copyright. The announcement, which was made last week, seems to be a step in the right direction for artists who would like to preserve the human essence of their work, however for those who have been using AI solely as a means to create music, this poses some complications.
AI generated music has received a lot of backlash since the advent of AI music creator tools like Suno, which in fact surpassed 2 million paid subscribers in February 2026 and has over 100 million people using the platform, according to a Forbes Magazine article. Despite this massive surge in growth for Suno, backlash for the platform and its impact on the music industry (especially long term) has grown insurmountably in recent months too.
So, what exactly does the US Copyright Office mean when they say works created solely by AI can not be copyrighted? Let’s break it down: All music that has been created in its entirety by AI without any human input can not be subject to copyright. This type of music is generally considered to be available to the public without any limitation and can be considered part of the public domain. Secondly, the ruling entails that work which was created using AI as well as human input can be copyrighted, however the copyright only applies to the sections which were made by humans. Lastly, music producers are able to copyright original arrangements or compositions which make use of AI tools, however the specific sounds generated by AI can not be copyrighted. 
Recently, the US Supreme Court declined to hear a case by computer scientist Stephen Thaler, who in 2018 created an artwork using an AI program he developed. The case was declined as the court said “this case was a poor vehicle for broader questions about AI-assisted authorship because Dr. Thaler consistently disclaimed any human creative contribution. The Court denied certiorari on March 2, 2026, concluding this particular litigation, though the broader legal landscape remains in flux”, according to an article by prominent US law firm Baker Donelson.
Despite all of this, there are still so many nuances and unanswered questions when it comes to AI, copyright and human input. But another massive issue still remains around whether or not it’s permissible for AI companies to use copyrighted music made by humans, in order to train their AI models without any form of compensation let alone permission.
