Generative artificial intelligence (AI) refers to "a category of artificial intelligence algorithms that generate new outputs based on the data they have been trained on. Unlike traditional AI systems that are designed to recognize patterns and make predictions, generative AI creates new content in the form of images, text, audio, and more" (World Economic Forum).

The nature of AI-generated content, and the increasing popularity of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT,  Midjourney) have led to important copyright questions including: defining authorship of AI-generated materials, the rights of creators whose works have been used to train AI models, and copyright ownership of generative AI works. 

The following are a selection of resources which may help provide insight on copyright conversations relating to the developing topic of generative AI:

• The AI-Copyright Challenge: Tech-Neutrality, Authorship, and the Public Interest (Carys Craig, Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence)
• Artificial Intelligence and Creativity: Why We’re Against Copyright Protection for AI-Generated Output (Brigitte Vézina and Brent Moran, Creative Commons)
• Copyright Throughout a Creative AI Pipeline (Sancho McCann, Canadian Journal of Law and Technology)
• The Death of the AI Author (Carys Craig and Ian Kerr, Ottawa Law Review)
• The End of Creativity?! – AI-Generated Content under the Canadian Copyright Act (McGill Business Law Platform)
• Getting the law up to speed on AI (Canadian Bar Association)
• The legal status of generative AI (Canadian Bar Association)
• The scary truth about AI copyright is nobody knows what will happen next (The Verge)
• State of the Arts: How Should Canadian Copyright Law Treat Works Generated by Artificial Intelligence? (Canadian Bar Association)

• Artists Sue Stable Diffusion and Midjourney for Using Their Work to Train AI That Steals Their Jobs (Futurism)
• Canada's First AI-Authored Copyright Registration Paints a Picture of Uncertainty (IP Osgoode)
• The current legal cases against generative AI are just the beginning (TechCrunch)
• Fearing copyright issues, Getty Images bans AI-generated artwork (Ars Technica)
• Getty Images is suing the creators of AI art tool Stable Diffusion for scraping its content (The Verge)
• The lawsuit that could rewrite the rules of AI copyright (The Verge)
• Why those AI-generated portraits all over social media have artists on edge (CBC)

This guide has been adapted from the CLO Learning Portal Copyright page (archived) and the Faculty Toolkit.

This site was designed solely for informational purposes for St. Lawrence College faculty, staff and students. All other users are encouraged to check and confirm the information with their institution(s). This site is prepared by library staff and is not reviewed by legal counsel.

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