AI-generated works and copyright law: towards a union of strange bedfellows

Abstract

Copyright law vests in original works of authorship.1 However, most European Union (EU) copyright instruments do not clearly specify whether an ‘author’ is a natural and/or legal person.2 EU Member States have also adopted divergent interpretations of ‘authorship’. Though it appears that there might be a preference for the definition of an author as a natural person,3 this approach might not adequately reflect technological realities since copyright works are no longer the exclusive reserve of natural persons. This is particularly because AI systems are now (either autonomously or with human input) capable of creating works which would ordinarily have been eligible for copyright protection had they been created by natural persons. Owing to reasons which include the above, AI-generated works may not be subject to copyright protection in most EU countries and this might affect the incentivization of creatives.4 ...