Tech Firms face intellectual property rights challenges in AI development

Posted 06 Sep 2025

2 min read

Article Summary

AI development faces legal and ethical IPR challenges, including copyright infringement, authorship debates, and need for law revisions to protect human creativity and foster innovation.

A copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed by Authors against Apple for using their books in AI training.

Such lawsuits filed against AI firms present legal and ethical challenges in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement in the AI age.

Challenges related to IPR enforcement on AI-generated content

Lack of consent for using works in AI: Use of copyright works without authorization in machine learning constitutes copyright infringement.
- However, this may impact AI development and free flow of data to improve innovation in AI.
Authorship or ownership: Legal debates over whether AI can be treated as the author or creator of innovations.
- South Africa issued a patent with the AI tool DABUS as the inventor.
Patentability of AI systems: It is difficult to ascertain the originality of the AI-generated work. E.g. deep fakes.
Ethical: Promoting AI capabilities in IPR challenges the originality of human intellect and leads to potential erosion of human creativity.

There is a need to review IPR laws to balance the interests of AI developers, preventing monopolies, and safeguarding original human expression.

Related Legal provisions

India

The Indian Copyright Act of 1957: Recognises a person behind the computer-generated work as the author of the work.
- However, the non-human counterpart (software/AI system) cannot be assigned authorship.
Parliamentary Standing Committee Recommendation: Introduction of a separate category for protection of AI-based inventions as IPRs and a review of the patent and copyright laws to accommodate AI-related inventions.