There are a lot of legal and ethical debates surrounding AI-generated images and videos, and questions surrounding copyright are up near the top of the list. On Wednesday the US Copyright Office released a new report that tries to provide some clarity around the issue of if AI and AI-edited images can be copyrighted.The report argues that copyright "protects the original expression in a work created by a human author, even if the work also includes AI-generated material." Images that are wholly generated with AI are still ineligible for copyright protection.The report is the second in a series from the Copyright Office, with this edition specifically focused on what it calls the "copyrightability" of AI-generated and AI-edited images. The Office first issued guidance around AI in March of 2023, followed by a series of online listening sessions for the public to contribute their thoughts. The series will have three reports; the first was released last July and dealt with AI replicas, like deepfakes and robocalls impersonating politicians.The arguments and recommendations in these reports aren't law, but they give us some insight into how the agency is viewing, or in this case, evolving, its guidance to account for the legal and ownership challenges new AI tech presents.One key thing that the Copyright Office highlights is the level of human contribution, meaning how hands-on a real human is during the creation process. This is important because, as the report correctly calls out, a lot of popular editing software have recently gotten AI-powered updates. Things like de-aging tools in film post-production and photo editing features that clean up unwanted objects and photo-bombers have been around for years, but some of them now use AI, to the dismay of some creators.That kind of assistive AI is different than a person writing a complex prompt for an AI image generator, and as such, the use of that AI-powered editing program shouldn't prevent a filmmaker or photographer from retaining copyrights over their works. "There is an important distinction between using AI as a tool to assist in the creation of works and using AI as a stand-in for human creativity," the report says.On the other side, AI image prompts are not copyrightable, as the Copyright Office argues that the final images are still the AI's "interpretation" of the person's prompt. The same prompt can produce endless and differing outputs, meaning the AI has more involvement in the act of creation.So far, guidance like this from US agencies and court decisions create a kind of hodge-podge legal framework for creators when it comes to AI images and videos. The new year and new administration might bring new legislation or changes, but we'll have to wait and see.For more on AI, check out everything we know so far about DeepSeek and how to turn off Apple Intelligence.