Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is woven into nearly every website, application, and digital tool today, and its prevalence is only growing as time goes on.  As a result, AI is used by individuals every day, whether to help fill a “blank page,” answer a question, or expedite the creation of creative content that otherwise would have taken significant time and money to develop.

The rub is that you or your business may not be the sole owner of your AI-generated work product.  In that event, your ability to control the use of and prevent others from using your AI-generated output will be diminished.

Why is this? Well, the U.S. Copyright Office and U.S. courts have upheld the position that human authorship is required for copyright ownership.  While this area of the law is constantly being challenged and is developing as new technology is introduced, as the law currently stands, individuals are only able to own and register a copyright in AI-generated works if they can identify the human-authored portions (which must also meet the required elements for copyright registration, primarily at least a modicum of creativity) versus those portions generated solely by AI.  Such parsing may not be easy, and there is a risk that the human elements may not be robust enough on their own to provide sufficient protection for enforcement efforts.  Individuals and businesses alike must consider whether the efficiencies of using AI are worth the drawback of limiting intellectual property protections, and the complications involved in determining whether you own the output.

These issues plague all industries, as AI becomes entangled into all aspects of life.  We regularly consult with clients about the extent to which they can maintain proprietary and exclusive rights in the materials that they generate, using AI or otherwise.  The use of AI is undoubtedly a boon to many, and can supercharge creativity, but care must be given to considering, and when necessary documenting, how you generated any output, as it may become valuable or desirable to others.