Media Industries Podcast AI and Copyright (Part One) - Tanya Aplin
May 23, 2025
Tanya Aplin, a Professor of Intellectual Property Law at King’s College London, dives into the complexities of AI and copyright. She explores the shifting landscape of creativity as AI takes on a more active role in generating content. Aplin discusses how jurisdictional differences affect the status of AI-generated works and the legal disputes arising from using copyrighted materials as AI training data. The conversation reveals the challenges of defining originality in an era where machines can create alongside humans.
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Different Originality Tests Worldwide
- Jurisdictions apply different originality tests: intellectual creation (UK/EU), minimal creativity (US), or skill-and-labor (Australia).
- Copyright law assumes human input, so AI outputs raise new questions about sufficient human contribution.
US Copyright Office Demands Human Contribution
- The U.S. Copyright Office scrutinizes human contributions and has refused registrations for some AI-generated outputs.
- Simple prompt entry often fails to show the necessary human creativity for registration.
Prompts Can Be Copyrightable
- Detailed, creative prompts can amount to literary works or even function like software code, and might attract copyright protection.
- Prompt engineering may become a commercial asset similar to TV formats or proprietary code.