The Authors Alliance is now accepting applications for research grants of up to $20,000 to support innovative studies at the intersection of AI, copyright law, and public interest values.

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced complex questions about creativity, authorship, and copyright in the digital age. In response to these challenges and opportunities, the Authors Alliance—bolstered by generous funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—has launched a bold new initiative: “Artificial Intelligence, Authorship, and the Public Interest.”

As part of this project, the Authors Alliance is now accepting applications for research grants of up to $20,000 to support innovative studies at the intersection of AI, copyright law, and public interest values. Scholars, technologists, and legal researchers alike are invited to explore how these technologies and legal frameworks can be better aligned to foster equity, creativity, and access to knowledge.

About the Research Grant Opportunity

These research grants aim to empower individuals and teams who are exploring how emerging AI technologies can either support or challenge public interest principles in areas like fair use, authorship, metadata, open access, and global copyright practices. The goal is to generate rigorous, policy-relevant, and accessible research that can guide ethical AI development and legal interpretation in the years ahead.

Who Can Apply?

Applications are welcomed from:

• Academic researchers

• Independent scholars

• Interdisciplinary or collaborative research teams

Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to public interest outcomes, accessible research communication, and scholarly excellence.

Funding and Deliverables

• Grant Amount: Up to $20,000 per project

• Application Deadline: Tuesday, July 1, 2025

• Deliverables: A public-facing research output (e.g., white paper, article, dataset, prototype) and participation in a symposium organized by the Authors Alliance.

Key Research Areas and Questions

Grant proposals should address one or more of the following research themes:

• Authorship and Ownership

• How can we define and document human authorship in AI-assisted works?

• What qualifies a work for copyright protection in hybrid human-AI processes?

• Fair Use and Training Data

• How does fair use apply to AI training datasets, especially in nonprofit or academic contexts?

• Should commercial and non-commercial uses be treated differently?

• Transparency, Attribution, and Metadata

• How can AI outputs be labeled or traced to ensure transparency?

• What are the implications of removing copyright management information (CMI)?

• Incentives and Equity

• How is AI affecting creative industries and their economic models?

• What policies are needed to preserve diversity and inclusion?

• Public Access and Commons Preservation

• How can copyright policies avoid enclosure of the public domain by AI developers?

• What role should nonprofit access play in AI development?

• Global and Comparative Law

• How are different countries regulating AI and copyright?

• What best practices can be drawn from comparative analysis?

• Open-Source AI Models

• How can open-source AI be supported to counter market monopolization?

• What challenges exist for nonprofits wanting to fine-tune or deploy open AI models?

• Dataset Opt-Out Systems

• What constitutes a fair and viable opt-out system for creators?

• Are there any negative unintended consequences worth examining?