On Aug. 18, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia affirmed the U.S. Copyright Office's (Copyright Office or the Office) denial of a copyright application for a visual piece of art generated entirely by an artificial intelligence-driven computer called the "Creativity Machine." Thaler v. Perlnutter, No. 22-cv-1564, 2023 WL 5333236 (D.D.C. Aug. 18, 2023). Recognizing that U.S. "copyright law protects only works of human creation," the court determined that the Copyright Office "acted properly in denying copyright registration for a work created absent any human involvement."