Computer-generated Works under the CDPA 1988

Abstract

Abstract Copyright protection in some commonwealth jurisdictions extends to computer-generated works. Although many scholars deem the right over computer-generated works to be a neighbouring right, it is still not clear under what circumstances a work is a computer-generated work. With the increasing application of artificial intelligence (AI), the copyright controversies associated with computer-generated works have become even more complicated. This chapter focuses on policy and legal issues surrounding the output of AI and copyright protection of computer-generated work under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988 in the UK. The CDPA approach to computer-generated work deviates from the mainstream international copyright practices, where human creativity is essential for authorship and copyright protection. From a policy perspective, it is important to explore whether this deviation can be justified. This chapter also investigates authorship issues concerning computer-generated works based on case law and its application, in particular who the person making the necessary arrangements is, and what the necessary arrangements in the AI environment are. Other issues relevant to computer-generated work, such as copyright term and joint authorship will be analysed as well.