Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Stephen Thaler v. Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director of the United States Copyright Office, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 23-5233 · judgment March 18, 2025
Certiorari denied · March 2, 2026
Pre-decision estimate: 4% cert probability
Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a D.C. Circuit decision below and counsel who has filed here before.
Question presented
- Whether works outputted by an AI system without a direct, traditional authorial contribution by a natural person can be copyrighted.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Ryan Benjamin Abbott
Brown, Neri, Smith and Khan, LLP
For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General
Case
Subject area
Economic Activity (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage
Linked docket
25A82
Order
Order list, March 2, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Mar 08 2026Amicus brief of Lea Bishop submitted.
- Mar 02 2026Petition DENIED.
- Feb 11 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/27/2026.
- Feb 09 2026Reply of petitioner Stephen Thaler filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 26 2026Amicus brief of Lea Bishop not accepted for filing. (February 6, 2026)
- Jan 23 2026Brief of Federal Respondents in opposition filed.
- Dec 19 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 26, 2026.
- Dec 18 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 26, 2025 to January 26, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Nov 26 2025Response Requested. (Due December 26, 2025)
- Nov 25 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/12/2025.
- Nov 12 2025Brief amici curiae of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, et al. filed.
- Oct 31 2025Amicus brief of Professor Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid, et al. not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - November 5, 2025)
- Oct 31 2025Brief amici curiae of Professor Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid, et al. filed. (Corrected)
- Oct 31 2025Letter from counsel for petitioner received.
- Oct 28 2025Waiver of right of respondent Federal Respondents to respond filed.
- Oct 09 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 13, 2025)
- Jul 23 2025Application (25A82) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until October 9, 2025.
- Jul 17 2025Application (25A82) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 10, 2025 to October 9, 2025, submitted to The Chief Justice.