Music Publishers Canada has been allowed to intervene in a Federal Court of Canada case over 'Suryast', an image Ankit Sahni made by having an AI tool called RAGHAV rework his sunset photo in the style of Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night'. The dispute is about a picture, but the publishers say the ruling will shape how Canadian law treats songs written with generative AI.
The history differs across the border. The US Copyright Office refused to register Suryast, finding that Sahni's prompts were not enough human creativity. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office, by contrast, registered it in 2021 with both Sahni and RAGHAV listed as authors. The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic then challenged that registration, arguing the image lacks the originality Canadian law demands and that software cannot be an author.
MPC's position is that only a person can be an author, so the AI tool should never be named, but that work made by a human with AI help can still earn protection. It wants courts to judge each case by the skill and judgment the human contributed, not apply a blanket rule, and for Canada to stay in line with other countries.
CMU notes the US position is now settled after the Supreme Court declined this year to take up the 'A Recent Entrance To Paradise' case, while the UK still protects computer-generated works pending its own review. The Canadian court's decision on Suryast is still to come.
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