Copyright Protection for Algorithm Products?

Abstract

A portrait of a somewhat pale-looking man painted in a style of an artist dead for over 340 years now: “The Next Rembrandt” is an incredibly realistic 3D print work created in 2016 based on data mined from 346 original Rembrandt paintings via algorithm. When the line between man and machine blurs, our existing laws governing inherent anthropocentric rights reach their limits of adequacy — such as copyright protections. Are such algorithm generated works copyright protected and shall they be copyright protected? Do we need to change copyright to protect them? The paper proposes a "phase model" for copyright protection of such algorithm products de lege lata and a new neighboring right de lege ferenda.