Generative AI is helping businesses create content faster than ever before, but it’s also creating new copyright and intellectual property risks that many companies haven’t fully understood.
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Generative AI makes it easy for businesses to create custom images, videos, marketing materials, or even their own software and tools. But there is a big catch.
Much of the data that AI is trained on is generated by humans. So if something comes up that looks a little too close to someone’s trademarked or copyrighted work, or infringes on a patent, you could find yourself in legal hot water.
This led creative people to sue the developers of AI tools (for example, Disney v Midjourney) for training AI on their unlicensed work, allowing others to create derivative work.
But recent developments, notably by Alcon Entertainment pursuit of Tesla about using genAI images that closely resemble them Blade Runner 2049 IPs, suggest that end users are increasingly being targeted.
This is important because the volume of AI content being created is increasing by the day and in many cases is presented to the public with little thought to potential copyright issues. This shows me that many organizations still do not fully understand the risks.
Again, we see an evolving situation where technology is simply moving too fast for the law to keep up. So let’s explore why this is dangerous and what you can do to keep yourself and your business out of court.
Yes Plagiarism
The important thing to remember is that copyright infringement does not have to be intentional.
Many businesses using genAI probably aren’t trying to copy anyone else’s work. They are simply looking for efficiency when it comes to content creation.
The problem is that recognizable creative elements of the work of others that appear in the training data can sometimes be included in the AI output.
Remember, there are two different issues regarding genAI copyright theft. First, there is the alleged illegal use of creative works to train AI models. That’s companies like Disney, as well as dozens of individual artists, writers and musicians currently suing artificial intelligence companies for.
This is only a professional concern if you are training your own models. The real risk for most businesses is that producing AI models can breach IP regulations. No one knows for sure how the courts will rule on these issues in the future, and it is possible that they will find that copyright or trademark infringements have occurred even if they are accidental.
As the use of artificial intelligence evolves beyond content creation and is widely used scienceengineering and design, the need to mitigate against unknown IP infringements will become even more critical.
This is what makes the Tesla case important, as it directly targets the end user.
Exactly how this will be done is unclear and depends on the upcoming interpretation and clarification of copyright law by courts and legislators. This means the situation is an ongoing business risk for anyone using AI to create content. So what are they doing to mitigate these risks?
What does this mean for you?
The golden rule is to always remember that AI itself will not be held legally liable for IP theft. the companies and people who use it.
So here are a few things to keep in mind.
First, if you’re creating content that will be public, avoid giving AI messages that will encourage it to copy others. project, such as “paint it Studio Ghibli style.” This should go without saying, but apparently it doesn’t!
Images, videos, marketing copy and anything else displayed to the public should be thoroughly reviewed before publication, with particular emphasis on identifying elements that may resemble existing creative works or trademarks.
It is also important to understand the compensation provided by some AI service providers, including Adobe, Microsoft and Google. These offer access to models trained exclusively on proprietary IP, or IP for which the rights have been negotiated. This adds another layer of protection compared to just relying on public tools, where the origin of the data is unknown.
Essentially, keep records of how your publicly displayed AI content was created in order to demonstrate that you took reasonable steps to respect IP and avoid infringement.
Finally, remember that the legal framework around AI and intellectual property is evolving, and future court decisions or legislation could significantly change the consequences of using AI to create content.
However, if you’re in a business where the speed and scale of productive AI creates tangible opportunities, you may not have the luxury of waiting for full clarity on the situation.
So, while you don’t need to become a copyright expert overnight, you do need to learn to treat AI content with care and responsibility, and create processes that ensure it’s used safely and responsibly.
All of this is something that should be covered in as much detail as possible in your company’s AI policy, so that there is little chance for mistakes to slip through the cracks.
But getting it right is key to using AI to create content at a scale that doesn’t infringe on others’ rights and won’t cause further problems down the line.
