How to register copyright /property rights for AI-generated text or image?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used to create content — texts, images, music, videos. But an important question arises: is it possible to register copyright for such content, and if so — how? In this article, we will figure out how AI content is protected in Ukraine and abroad, and what steps to take to protect your interests.

What is AI content?

AI content is the result of artificial intelligence. It can be:

text (article, advertisement, script, story) created using neural networks, such as: ChatGPT, Grok, Deepseek, etc.
image generated by neural networks such as: Midjourney, DALL E, Leonardo.ai etc.
music or video created by neural networks such as: Wan, Hailuoai, Klingai, Suno, etc.

What is special about AI content in terms of authorship?

The issue of determining the authorship of AI content is related to the fact that the following are involved in the creation of AI content:

neural network (AI),
a user who creates a prompt and passes it to the neural network,
the user who trains the AI (may coincide with point 2),
owner (developer or distributor ) of a neural network (AI).

And without the contribution of each of the parties, AI content cannot be created: the neural network is a product of the intellectual (and not only) activity of its owner and works on the basis of the user’s prompts (and training on his part).

That is why there is a lot of debate about who should be considered the author of AI content and who owns the intellectual property rights to AI content.

Who is considered an author according to the law?

According to Ukrainian legislation (Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”), only a person (an individual) can be an author. The same rule applies in many other countries, including the EU and the USA. Artificial intelligence does not have legal personality, and therefore cannot be an author.

Intellectual property rights (the difference with copyright is not within the scope of this publication) can belong to both an individual and a legal entity. But even in this case, the neural network (AI), as such, cannot be the owner of AI content.

Therefore, at the moment, theoretically, the author can be recognized as:

an individual who created AI content using AI, OR
a group of individuals from the creators of the neural network and the user who downloaded the neural network prompt .

In this case, the mandatory condition will be the presence of signs of creative activity in the user’s actions and the fact of creation of a new work. In other words, in case of a dispute, both conditions will be the subject of proof with the involvement of an expert to establish the completeness of the picture.

In addition to the above, it is important to consider the emergence and transfer of intellectual property rights, but this largely depends on the public offer or terms of use, or provisions on the use of AI, which must be published in the relevant neural network.

Conclusion: the emergence of copyright for the user will be influenced by several factors: the degree of creative participation in the creation of AI content and whether the AI content is recognized as a new work. In turn, intellectual property rights are often regulated in the documentation of the neural network provider.

How to register rights to AI content?

In light of the above, our AI and IP lawyers recommend:

1. Record your participation

To prove authorship, it is important to show:

how exactly did you use the AI (prompts, instructions, input data (images, videos)),
how you refined the result (improvement, editing, editing, etc.),
what was your creative contribution (who wrote the prompts (and how many), training, further processing).

Save:

correspondence with AI (prompts and replies),
intermediate versions of content,
your edits.

2. Register the work

In Ukraine, copyright registration is not mandatory, but it can be useful when protecting rights in court.

You can submit an application to Ukrpatent.
In the description, it is important to indicate that you are the author, and AI was used as a tool (similar to a camera or graphic editor).

3. Add a copyright notice

When publishing AI content, you can specify:

“© [Your name/company name], year. Generated using [AI name]”.

This helps to cement your priority and discourage copypasta .

4. License correctly

If you transfer AI content to a customer, partner, or publish it on platforms, clearly state the terms of use:

who can use the content,
for what purposes and in what countries,
with what restrictions.

What about abroad?

US: Copyright Office denies registration of works created entirely by AI. But if there is human input, authorship is possible. The Zarya of the Dawn case was key in this issue, which examined the issue of legal protection of copyright in a work partially created with the help of AI. According to the plot of the case, the key issue was whether the american artist and writer Kristina Kashtanova (Kristina Rhea) owned the rights of images that were generated using Midjourney and included in the graphic novel “Zarya of the Dawn”, published in 2022. The Copyright Office at one point considered that the images created by Midjourney were not copyrightable because AI could not be the author, and Krista did not have full control over the process of creating the images. Ultimately, the conclusions were made that: 1) AI content is not copyrightable in the US unless a human made a significant creative contribution, 2) attribution over AI-generated text is easier to prove than over images.

From this we draw the following conclusions and recommendations:

AI tool = tool (like brush, camera, Photoshop) only if:
- a person clearly controls the process,
- edits, directs, selects and refines the result.
Without this, copyright does not apply.
Recommended:
- save prompts and intermediate results;
- describe your contribution in the application;
- indicate which elements were created by AI.

EU: There is no specific regulation yet, but the general principles apply – authorship belongs to the person if he or she has made a creative contribution.

What to do in practice?

Use AI as a tool, not as a creator.
Document your actions (including prompts , corrections).
Register key works if they are commercially important.
Use AI generators only with a license.
Carefully study and comply with contracts and other documentation published in neural networks regarding intellectual property rights.
Consult with lawyers regarding disputes or commercialization of content.

Need legal help?

Zilver lawyers will help: