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Alliance Center for
Intellectual Property Rights


AI CONTENT: WHO OWNS IT?

October 1, 2024

*Mr. Arpan Soni

INTRODUCTION

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a potent creative force in today’s world, capable of producing everything from software codes and research papers to art and music. However, as AI becomes more ubiquitous, a pressing legal question arises: who owns the copyright to content generated by AI algorithms? Is it the creator of the AI, the user, or could it be attributed to the AI itself?

This blog delves into the complexities of copyright law where traditional legal frameworks clash with the realities of AI-driven content creation. We will explore the key issues and perspectives that shape this evolving legal debate and outline the challenges and opportunities posed by AI-generated content. In doing so, we also consider how AI can benefit content creators by enhancing efficiency, improving insights, and streamlining the publication process.

AUTHORSHIP AND OWNERSHIP

The Indian Copyright law distinguishes authorship from ownership. Authorship according to the Copyright Act, 1957 is the person who causes the work to be created. Further the act also clarifies that the author is the first owner of the original work when he/she has created the work for his/her enjoyment. In case of a piece of work that was created by an employee during the course of his/her employment, the employeer is considered to be the owner of the copyrighted work.

AI AND ITS EVOLUTION

Al refers to a computers’ ability to mimic or augment human intellect, such as critical thinking and knowledge acquisition via experience. Although AI has long been utilized in computer programs, it is now used in a variety of other products and services. AI addresses real-world problems using methodologies from economics, algorithm design, and probability theory. AI also incorporates computer science, mathematics, psychology, and languages. Mathematics provides methods for modeling and solving the resulting optimization issues, whereas computer science provides tools for designing and developing algorithms. In the late 1940s, computer pioneers Alan Turing and John von Neumann began researching how machines "think," which is when AI was first explored. But in 1956, researchers demonstrated that a machine could answer any problem if given unlimited memory, marking a crucial turning point in the history of AI "AI Winter" (1970s-1980s) was a time when the actual interest in AI research was decreased and funding for AI was reduced because it could not achieve ambitious goals within a short time. However, the creation of expert systems like Dendral in 1972, and the re-entry of the backpropagation algorithm in 1986 led to a rekindling of interest in neural networks. The internet era of the 1990s to 2000s was notable for bringing up some of the machine learning algorithms like IBM's Deep Blue, Sony's AIBO, IBM's Watson, and Google's AlphaGo. OpenAI released the first Generative Pre- trainef Transformer (GPT) model in 2018, therefore, establishing an important breakthrough in generating artificial intelligence. GPT models are big language models that learn from unlabelled text data. And the GPT-n series, from OpenAI, has gained a leading role in GPT development. On the other hand organizations such as EleutherAI and Cerebras have also developed GPT-specific models for their purposes. Modern artificial intelligence is receiving so much attention that it is simple to overlook that the discipline is not entirely new. The development of new websites and apps like ChatGPT, Interior AI, Grammarly, etc. has disrupted intellectual property laws.

OWNERSHIP RIGHTS OF AI-GENERATED CONTENT

This modern technology trend has posed several questions to Intellectual Property (IP) law. The IP authorities need to answer various problems this AI technology raises. The most crucial question, though, is who owns content created by AI—the creator, the user, or the AI itself? There are several answers to this question by different experts in the field of IP including the AI tool itself. The ownership of content created by AI can be a challenging ethical and legal problem. The entity that owns and controls the AI system is frequently also the proprietor of content created by the AI. But this may change based on the authority and unique circumstances. Particularly in creative or commercial environments, it is critical to have explicit agreements and policies surrounding ownership of AI-generated material. There are three primary perspectives on this issue:

  • The Creator: The person or entity that develops the AI system could claim ownership of the content it generates. Since they are responsible for designing the algorithm, they may be considered the author or creator under copyright law.
  • The User: Depending on the terms of service or license agreements, the user who inputs data or parameters into the AI to generate content may also claim ownership. The extent of their rights depends largely on the contractual relationship with the AI platform.
  • AI-Generated Algorithms: Since AI systems are not recognized as legal entities, they cannot hold copyright. However, there is an emerging debate over whether a new category of copyright should be introduced to account for AI-generated content. Some legal scholars argue for a sui generis system that would grant limited rights to AI-generated works.

Considering that the legal and ethical frameworks surrounding AI-generated content are still being developed, it is crucial to seek the opinion of legal experts for thorough guidance.

CONCLUSION:

Artificial intelligence brought about new creative ways and helped produce content for a long time but as a result, legal and ethical problems have been raised especially on the question of AI-generated content ownership. This raises the question of the rights of authors, audiences, and AI. Designers of algorithms are at one end and data entry users are at the other end. In addition to AI itself, the copyright issue on the emergent class of AI is also discussed. Setting up both explicit contracts and policies is a must, and is most important in the case of being creative and business ones. The responsibility of legal experts and decision-makers is to work together and come up with elaborate regulations that strike a deal between innovation, growth, and Intellectual property rights.

REFERENCES:

  1. Verma, A. (2020) Intellectual property of an AI: Issues and challenges, iPleaders.  https://blog.ipleaders.in/intellectual-property-ai-issues-challenges/
  2. Roser, M. (2022) The brief history of artificial intelligence: The world has changed fast – what might be next? Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/brief-history-of-ai
  3. Tiaxiang He (2019) The sentimental fools and the fictitious authors: Rethinking the copyright issues of AI-generated content in China. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10192557.2019.1703520
  4. CHIOMA O. NWABACHILI, CHUDI C. NWABACHILI (2015), Authorship and Ownership of Copyright: A Critical Review.
  5. www.iiste.org
  6. Mark Rollins, 2023, The History and Evolution of Artificial Intelligence: A Journey Through Time, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/history-evolution-artificial-intelligence-journey-mark/

Author:
* Mr. Arpan Soni
3rd Year B.A.LL. B. (Hons.) Student,
Alliance School of Law, Alliance University.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of the Alliance Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (ACIPR) and the Centre does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.