Directing the Algorithm: Rethinking Authorship through the Improvisational Director Analogy

Kenan Başkuru LL.M.

doi:10.5771/9783689005771

Summary

This thesis examines the conditions under which human users can be recognised as the authors of images generated by generative artificial intelligence (GAI). It contends that the unpredictable and opaque nature of GAI does not automatically preclude user authorship in prompt-based image generation. Drawing an analogy with improvisational cinema, it contends that just as directors guide unpredictable performances through creative decisions, GAI users can shape outputs through iterative prompts. Based on a comparative analysis of EU, US and Turkish copyright law, the thesis proposes a process-based originality assessment and introduces the concept of 'Directed Originality'.

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2026
Copyright year: 2026
ISBN-Print: 978-3-68900-596-2
ISBN-Online: 978-3-68900-577-1
Publisher: Tectum, Baden-Baden
Series: Young Academics: Rechtswissenschaft
Volume: 28
Language: English
Pages: 92
Product type: Book Titles

1. Foreword No access
Acknowledgement No access Pages 1 - 2
Abstract No access Pages 3 - 4
Acronyms and Abbreviations No access Pages 5 - 6
1. 1. 1. 1. EU No access
    2. 2. US No access
    3. 3. Türkiye No access
  2. 1. 1. EU No access
    2. 2. US No access
    3. 3. Türkiye No access
  3. C. Interim Conclusion No access
2. 1. A. Spectrum of Unpredictability No access
  2. 1. 1. How AI works No access
    2. 2. Unpredictability as a Barrier to Authorial Control No access
    3. 3. Reconsidering the Analogy with Photography: Why is GAI Fundamentally Different? No access
    4. 1. a) Autonomous AI-generated content No access
      2. b) Human-Directed AI-generated content No access
3. 1. A. Film Directors Under Copyright Law No access
  2. 1. 1. The Conceptual Framework of Improvisational Cinema and Its Divergence from Conventional Cinema No access
    2. 2. Case Studies: Methods and Stylistic Approaches in Selected Directors No access
  3. C. Applying the Analogy to Generative AI No access
  4. 1. 1. Creativity as a Dynamic Process No access
    2. 2. Unpredictability as a Feature of Creativity No access
    3. 3. From Absolute to Authorial Control No access
    4. 4. Authorial Control in Action: Shaping Unpredictability No access
    5. 5. Authorship in the Holistic Process No access
  5. E. Suggested legal framework: “Directed Originality” Test No access
Conclusion No access Pages 81 - 82
List of Works Cited No access Pages 83 - 92