Who Owns AI-Generated Content? Copyright Law in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

 With AI tools like ChatGPT, MidJourney, Sora, and Runway now creating everything from essays to full-length videos, one big question looms: Who owns what AI creates? Is it the developer? The user? Or no one at all?


The New York Times suing OpenAI and Microsoft for using its articles to train AI.

⚖️ Real-World Cases Shaping AI Copyright Law

1. The U.S. Copyright Office vs. AI Art

In 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that AI-generated images from MidJourney could not be copyrighted because they were not made by a human hand, even though a human gave the prompt.

“Prompts are not the same as artistic control,” the ruling noted.

2. The New York Times vs. OpenAI & Microsoft (2023 - Present)

The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming their journalism was used without permission to train large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT and Bing AI.

  • Key issue: Can you legally train AI on copyrighted content?

  • Implication: If ruled in favor of the Times, this could change how all future AI models are built.

3. Getty Images vs. Stability AI

Getty Images sued the AI art company Stability AI (creator of Stable Diffusion) for allegedly training its model on millions of copyrighted stock photos without a license.

  • Visual copyright is a big concern for photographers, illustrators, and designers.

  • Many AI-generated images even carried Getty’s watermark—proving unlicensed use.


🧠 Who Owns AI Content—Really?

Here are the current views globally:

U.S.No copyright for non-human works
UKAllows AI-generated works but gives copyright to the person “making arrangements”
EU (draft AI Act)Still debating liability, leaning toward stronger transparency for datasets
MalaysiaNo explicit law yet; likely to follow Berne Convention human authorship principle


🎨 So Can I Use AI Art, Writing, or Music Freely?

Not exactly. Even if AI-generated work isn’t protected by copyright, the data it was trained on might be.

Examples of Risk:

  • Using AI to make a “Drake” song with his voice = potential personality rights violation.

  • Asking AI to draw in a Disney or Ghibli style = copyrighted look and feel issue.

  • Using AI-generated writing from ChatGPT and claiming it’s “yours” = depends on platform’s terms of service (usually you own the output, but not always).


As AI becomes a creative tool in every field, from animation to songwriting, the lines between author, machine, and inspiration are getting blurrier. For now, human creators still have legal protection, but AI-generated content lives in a legal grey area.

If you’re an artist, student, or content creator, it’s important to:

  • Stay updated on copyright changes,

  • Use AI ethically and transparently,

  • Avoid replicating others’ work too closely—whether human or machine-made.


by `Aisyatin Farhah 121120255

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