Copyright and Artificial Creation: Does EU Copyright Law Protect AI-Assisted Output?

P.B. Hugenholtz, João Pedro Quintais

2021GRURRR. Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht, Rechtsprechungs-Report/GRUR-DVD/GRUR-CD/IIC/Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht/Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht. Internationaler Teil131 citationsDOI Open Access PDF

Abstract

Abstract This article queries whether and to what extent works produced with the aid of AI systems – AI-assisted output – are protected under EU copyright standards. We carry out a doctrinal legal analysis to scrutinise the concepts of “work”, “originality” and “creative freedom”, as well as the notion of authorship, as set forth in the EU copyright acquis and developed in the case-law of the Court of Justice. On this basis, we develop a four-step test to assess whether AI-assisted output qualifies as an original work of authorship under EU law, and how the existing rules on authorship may apply. Our conclusion is that current EU copyright rules are generally suitable and sufficiently flexible to deal with the challenges posed by AI-assisted output.

Topics & Concepts

OriginalityCopyright lawEconomic JusticeLaw and economicsSet (abstract data type)LawWork (physics)Fair usePolitical scienceEuropean court of justiceComputer scienceIntellectual propertyEuropean Union lawSociologyEconomicsEuropean unionEngineeringCreativityMechanical engineeringEconomic policyProgramming languageLaw, AI, and Intellectual PropertyEthics and Social Impacts of AIDigital Transformation in Law