Who Owns AI Generated Content in Australia?
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No one. Australian copyright law requires a human author. Content generated entirely by AI from a single prompt is not protected by copyright.
Under Australian law, copyright only subsists in a work if it is created by a human author who contributes “independent intellectual effort.” Consequently, content generated entirely by an AI tool is not protected by copyright.
The Human Authorship Requirement
The High Court established in IceTV that a human author is essential for copyright. If you generate a blog post or image using a single prompt in ChatGPT or Midjourney, you do not own it. Any competitor can freely copy and use that content without infringing your rights.
Protecting Your Business
To ensure copyright protection, a human must make significant, original contributions to the creation of the work. If you rely heavily on AI for your business marketing, you may be exposing your content to legal copying by others.
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Footnotes
- IceTV Pty Ltd v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd (2009) 239 CLR 458.
- Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) s 32.
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