AI and Copyright: Who Owns the Works Created by Artificial Intelligence?
25.07.2025
Contents
- Introduction
- Can AI Be the Author?
- Who Owns the Rights: the User, the Company, or the Model Creator?
- Lawsuits Against OpenAI, Google, and Others
- What Does the Future Hold?
- Conclusion
Introduction
With the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, new opportunities for content creation have become available. AI is capable of generating texts, images, music, and even code. But who owns the rights to these works? 🤔 Can AI be recognized as the author? And if not, who owns the rights— the user, the company using AI, or the creator of the model? The answers to these questions will be explored in this article.
Can AI Be the Author?
Currently, in most countries, copyright can only belong to a human, not a machine. This means that AI cannot legally be recognized as the "author" of a work. In countries like the EU and the US, the rights to a work are granted to a natural person, not artificial intelligence.
However, with the rapid development of AI technology, a new issue arises: if AI can create works, who should be recognized as the author? Companies like OpenAI or Google use AI to create content, and the question arises of who holds the copyright to that content.
Who Owns the Rights: the User, the Company, or the Model Creator?
- User's Rights:
If the user generates content using AI, for example, with Jasper or Copy.ai, and the terms of service allow them to fully own the results, they may have the right to authorship. This allows the user to use the work as they see fit, including for commercial purposes. - Company's Rights:
Many companies, such as Google or OpenAI, retain the rights to content created by their AI systems. This is because AI is typically trained on massive datasets, including copyrighted materials. These terms protect companies from potential legal risks and allow them to control the use of works created with their technologies. - Model Creator's Rights:
In some cases, if the AI model uses unique algorithms or patented technologies, the creators of the model may claim the rights to the results generated by the AI. For example, if AI creates innovative solutions or technologies, the patents may belong to the model's creators.
Table: Distribution of Rights for AI-Generated Content 💡
|
Scenario |
Who Owns the Rights |
Example |
Commentary |
|
User's Rights |
The user using AI to generate content |
Using Jasper to create blog posts or commercial content |
The user can own the rights to the created content based on the service's terms of use |
|
Company's Rights (AI Platform) |
The company providing the AI service |
OpenAI and its models, such as GPT-3, where the rights to the content may stay with the company |
Platforms often retain the rights to content generated through their systems, considering data usage |
|
Model Creator's Rights |
The AI model creator if the model uses patented technologies |
Google DeepMind and AlphaGo for creating algorithms and innovations using AI |
AI developers may claim rights to their algorithms or unique technologies created by AI |
Lawsuits Against OpenAI, Google, and Others
In recent years, several major lawsuits have raised the issue of copyright for AI-generated works:
- OpenAI: The company faced several lawsuits related to the legality of using copyrighted content to train its models. The question was whether authors could claim compensation for the use of their works in training AI models like GPT-3.
- Google: The company was involved in a legal dispute over the legitimacy of using AI to create works that may resemble existing copyrighted works.
These lawsuits raise important questions about how to regulate the use of intellectual property in the age of artificial intelligence and who should truly own the rights to such works.
What Does the Future Hold?
Given the rapid development of AI, we can expect the emergence of new laws that regulate the ownership of content generated by AI. Possible developments include:
- New Legal Norms: New types of rights may emerge to account for AI's role in creating content. For example, the concept of "artificial authorship" might be introduced to recognize AI's contribution to the creative process.
- Protection of User Rights: As AI evolves, the protection of users' interests will become more important. In the future, laws may be developed to more clearly define the rights to AI-generated content.
Conclusion
The question of who owns the rights to AI-generated content remains unresolved. Currently, depending on the terms of service and the platform, rights may belong to the user, the company, or the model creator. However, with the rapid advancement of technology and the introduction of new legal norms, we can expect clear legislation in the future to govern these issues.
Try the tools on AIMarketWave!
Looking for new AI tools? Check out our articles and reviews on AIMarketWave. 💻
