Intellectual Property in the Face of Generative AI: A Review of the Legal Foundations of Protection
Subject Areas : Intellectual Property RightsAlireza Ghorbani Ziksari 1 , Amin Najafian 2 , Fatemeh Shadhan 3
1 - Student of Master’s Degree in Private Law, Department of Law, Ahrar Institute of Higher Education, Rasht, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Mahallati Islamic Sciences University, Qom, Iran.
3 - Faculty Member in Public International Law, Department of Law, Faculty of Humanities, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
Keywords: Intellectual Property, Generative AI, Copyright, Legal Review, Authorship, Originality of Work.,
Abstract :
With the rapid advancement of generative AI technologies, traditional intellectual property (IP) systems face unprecedented and significant challenges. Works produced by these systems, often created without direct human intervention or conscious creativity, have generated ambiguities regarding the determination of authorship, the originality of the work, and the scope of legal protection. The significance of this issue has become increasingly apparent, given the swift growth of the technology and its widespread application in content creation and scientific and industrial innovation. This study aims to examine the dimensions of intellectual property in the face of generative AI and to review the legal foundations concerning the protection of such works.The research methodology is analytical, descriptive, and comparative. Data were gathered through a review of domestic and foreign literature, scientific articles, conference papers, and legal documents, and were then analyzed using a conceptual framework. The findings indicate that traditional IP systems, particularly in the realms of copyright and patent law, are ineffective when confronted with autonomous AI-generated works. Works produced without human intervention typically do not qualify for legal protection, and traditional criteria of authorship and originality require redefinition. Furthermore, the necessity of establishing a clear legal framework for attributing rights and defining the scope of protection has been highlighted, alongside the need for comparative policy-making and alignment with emerging technologies.The study emphasizes the importance of creating a specific legal framework for generative AI works, redefining key IP concepts, and designing a hybrid or conditional legal system. This research provides the necessary groundwork for developing future legal policies and research in the fields of intellectual property and artificial intelligence.
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