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AI and Copyright law - The protection of AI-generated outputs

Hanfelt, Alice LU (2024) HARN63 20241
Department of Business Law
Abstract
There is uncertainty about whether AI-generated output can and should be protected
under EU copyright law and, in that case, who should obtain the rights. This thesis
examines this legal issue by interpreting the legal text especially the InfoSoc
Directive, case law and by considering legal scholarships. It has been established in
the thesis that an AI-generated output can be considered protectable if it meets the
traditional copyright requirements of being a ’work’. Furthermore, according to
some scholars, two actors that could claim authorship for such output are the
developers of the AI systems or the user of the system. For example, a user could
show creativity when entering detailed prompts and modifying the final output into
... (More)
There is uncertainty about whether AI-generated output can and should be protected
under EU copyright law and, in that case, who should obtain the rights. This thesis
examines this legal issue by interpreting the legal text especially the InfoSoc
Directive, case law and by considering legal scholarships. It has been established in
the thesis that an AI-generated output can be considered protectable if it meets the
traditional copyright requirements of being a ’work’. Furthermore, according to
some scholars, two actors that could claim authorship for such output are the
developers of the AI systems or the user of the system. For example, a user could
show creativity when entering detailed prompts and modifying the final output into
his own creation. In addition, the developer of the AI system can develop the system
in a way that makes it possible for the developer to predict the output and thereby
express creativity and originality in the generating process. However, this assumes
that AI is used as a tool and not acting independently in the generative process.
Moreover, a conclusion is made that it is probably challenging for an AI-generated
output to meet the requirements of copyright protection. Therefore, the possibility of
protecting AI-generated outputs as related rights is further examined and considered
more appropriate, as related rights are not subject to any thresholds. Potentially, an
AI-generated output could take the form of a recording and, therefore, be protected
under existing categories of related rights. In addition, both the user and developer
of an AI system could be considered the rights holder of such recording by making
investments in the creation of a recording. Finally, a suggestion is presented to
introduce a new category of related rights to bring more legal certainty and avoid the
risk of AI outcompeting human creativity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hanfelt, Alice LU
supervisor
organization
course
HARN63 20241
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
European Union, Copyright, Related rights, InfoSoc Directive, AIgenerated output, Protection, Rights holder, Prompts, Requirements, Thresholds.
language
English
id
9158407
date added to LUP
2024-06-10 10:50:28
date last changed
2024-06-10 10:50:28
@misc{9158407,
  abstract     = {{There is uncertainty about whether AI-generated output can and should be protected
under EU copyright law and, in that case, who should obtain the rights. This thesis
examines this legal issue by interpreting the legal text especially the InfoSoc
Directive, case law and by considering legal scholarships. It has been established in
the thesis that an AI-generated output can be considered protectable if it meets the
traditional copyright requirements of being a ’work’. Furthermore, according to
some scholars, two actors that could claim authorship for such output are the
developers of the AI systems or the user of the system. For example, a user could
show creativity when entering detailed prompts and modifying the final output into
his own creation. In addition, the developer of the AI system can develop the system
in a way that makes it possible for the developer to predict the output and thereby
express creativity and originality in the generating process. However, this assumes
that AI is used as a tool and not acting independently in the generative process.
Moreover, a conclusion is made that it is probably challenging for an AI-generated
output to meet the requirements of copyright protection. Therefore, the possibility of
protecting AI-generated outputs as related rights is further examined and considered
more appropriate, as related rights are not subject to any thresholds. Potentially, an
AI-generated output could take the form of a recording and, therefore, be protected
under existing categories of related rights. In addition, both the user and developer
of an AI system could be considered the rights holder of such recording by making
investments in the creation of a recording. Finally, a suggestion is presented to
introduce a new category of related rights to bring more legal certainty and avoid the
risk of AI outcompeting human creativity.}},
  author       = {{Hanfelt, Alice}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{AI and Copyright law - The protection of AI-generated outputs}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}