How do creators protect their work in the United States, and can AI work be copyrighted?

Your work is copyrighted the moment you create it, but in the US you must register a US work with the Copyright Office before you can sue over infringement, and registering on time is what lets you claim statutory damages and legal fees.

Sources: US Copyright Office: Copyright Basics (Circular 1) · Watermark.ws: should you register photo copyright

Fees: $45 for one work by one author, $65 for the standard application, and $55 to register up to 750 photos by one photographer in one group application. The group photo fee rises to $85 in mid-November 2026.

Sources: US Copyright Office: fees · Federal Register: Copyright Office fees (2026) · Fstoppers: the fee increase and photographers

Work made by AI with no human author can't be copyrighted: the D.C. Circuit held this in Thaler v. Perlmutter (March 2025). The Copyright Office says prompts alone aren't enough human control, while a person's own selection, arrangement or edits can be protected.

Sources: Justia: Thaler v. Perlmutter (D.C. Cir. 2025) · Authors Alliance: Thaler v. Perlmutter