The Illusion of Copyright Protection

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Copyright law is an outdated relic of a bygone era—an era where creativity was scarce, publishing was controlled by gatekeepers, and protecting intellectual property actually meant something.

Today, in a world where AI tools are everywhere, the idea that an artist needs government validation to claim their own work is ridiculous.

The U.S. Copyright Office’s latest AI report confirms that AI-generated works alone cannot be copyrighted, but human contributions can make a work eligible—depending on the level of creative input. However, the report leaves open how much human input is enough and who decides that threshold.

Creators shouldn’t need a stamp of approval to claim and monetize their work, but the Copyright Office has ruled that AI prompts alone do not qualify as authorship. This means artists must demonstrate clear creative modifications to claim copyright.

The truth is, copyright began as a way to regulate publishing monopolies and later evolved into a tool for controlling distribution and maximizing corporate profits. And in today’s digital economy, creators don’t need outdated laws. We need better tools.

A Brief History of Copyright

Copyright has always been about power—who controls creative works, and who profits from them. It started as a tool for regulating publishers, but as technology advanced, it became more about corporate control.

📚 The First Copyright Law (1710): The Statute of Anne (England) was the world’s first copyright law. It granted authors rights to their work but also limited publishers’ monopolies over books.

📚 The U.S. Copyright Act (1790): America copied this model, granting authors a 14-year monopoly (renewable once). It was meant to incentivize creation, but from the beginning, copyright was tied to commercial interests.

🎬 Hollywood & Copyright Expansion (20th Century): Movie studios, record labels, and publishing giants lobbied for stronger copyright laws to maximize profits. Copyright protections were extended multiple times, often benefiting corporations far more than individual artists.

Let’s be real: who actually benefits from copyright today?

✅ Big corporations that have the resources to sue infringers.
✅ Lawyers who make millions fighting over intellectual property.
✅ Platforms like YouTube that weaponize copyright claims to control content.

Meanwhile, most independent artists can’t afford to enforce their copyrights. In the digital world—where images, videos, and music can be copied infinitely—copyright is an illusion of protection.

Photography, AI, and the Fear of New Technology

What’s happening with AI-generated art today is exactly what happened with photography in the 19th century.

When photography was first invented, traditional artists and legal experts argued that photographs weren’t “real art” because “the camera did the work.” Sound familiar?

📸 The Supreme Court & Photography (1884)
In Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a photograph could be copyrighted—but only if the photographer exercised creative control (composition, lighting, pose).

The same vague standard is being applied to AI today:
💡 If an artist uses AI, how much control is “enough” for copyright?
💡 Who decides, and why should artists need approval at all?

The real problem isn’t AI. It’s that copyright law is stuck in an outdated framework. AI, blockchain, and digital tools have already changed how art is created and shared. Instead of arguing over “human effort,” we need new systems that work for artists today.

If Copyright is Fading, What Comes Next?

If copyright no longer protects artists, how do we protect and monetize our work?

The answer isn’t more lawsuits—it’s better technology:

1️⃣ Blockchain & Smart Contracts: Proof Without Permission

✅ Timestamp & track authorship on the blockchain—no government needed.
✅ Smart contracts allow automatic licensing and royalty payments.
✅ Artists don’t need permission to own their work.

📌 Note: While blockchain provides proof of ownership, legal systems haven’t fully recognized it as a copyright alternative yet. But adoption is growing.

2️⃣ AI + Licensing: Own Your Process

✅ Instead of fighting for copyright, artists should define their own licensing terms.
✅ AI-assisted creation should have clear monetization options rather than legal battles.
✅ Decentralized platforms & NFTs allow direct sales, tracking, and automated royalties.

3️⃣ Direct Monetization: No Gatekeepers

✅ Platforms like Patreon, Substack, ARTstocker, and creator-driven tools let artists sell directly to their audience.
✅ Instead of fighting piracy, artists can embrace accessibility and focus on community-driven monetization models.

A Call to Artists: Stop Playing By Old Rules

Why are we still waiting for validation from institutions that don’t serve us?

📌 The Copyright Office, record labels, and publishers are scrambling to stay relevant—but they aren’t necessary anymore.

✅ Artists don’t need permission to claim their work.
✅ AI isn’t a threat—it’s an opportunity.
✅ Copyright isn’t the future—blockchain, licensing, and direct ownership are.

It’s time for artists to stop playing by outdated rules and start creating a system that works for us.

🔴 Copyright isn’t dead yet—but it’s fading. What comes next is up to us.

Where Do You Stand?

Is copyright still relevant in the age of AI and blockchain? Or is it time to move on?

Let’s talk. Find me on X and most social media sites: @vlaneART