DEMYSTIFYING: Navigating copyright risks in AI-generated content
Generative AI tools, such as language models and content creators, may regurgitate passages from information they’ve mined, which may include copyrighted material, like newspaper articles, academic journals, etc. In addition, these tools can produce new content that might incorporate or be inspired by the ideas contained in copyrighted material. The output might not reference its sources.
RISK: Inadvertent copyright infringement or plagiarism issues
The primary copyright risk with AI-generated content is its ability to inadvertently reproduce copyrighted material. This can include direct passages or closely paraphrased content that the end user may not have explicit rights to use. For lawyers, this poses a significant concern, as incorporating such content into legal documents, advisories, or any client-related material without proper authorization could lead to legal repercussions, infringing on copyright laws.
MITIGATION
To mitigate these risks, users must request source information from AI tools - this is essential both to verify the authenticity of the content (as discussed in a previous tip) but also to avoid inadvertent copyright infringement or plagiarism issues. Some AI services offer indemnification against copyright infringement risks, such as Microsoft Copilot and OpenAI's copyright shield. Look at their terms of use to see if this indemnification exists. There is also software that checks content for plagiarism risks.
POLICY CHECKLIST FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
Remember that your role as lawyer doesn't change.
- Source Creditation: Ensure the content is appropriately sourced by asking the program to cite its sources - and then, verify the existence and accuracy of the sources it cites.
- The Original Idea: Ensure that generative AI hasn’t given you a theory or an idea that belongs to another author. Even if you re-word the content, this raises issues of intellectual property infringement and plagiarism. Creative prompting could generate a new idea, but extreme caution should be used before claiming the idea as your own.
- Legal Compliance: All AI-generated outputs must comply with existing intellectual property and copyright laws, adhering to the legal standards of practice.
- Indemnification Awareness: Users should be informed about and encouraged to utilize AI tools that offer copyright infringement indemnification within their terms of use.
did you know…?
You can ask AI for jokes. When asked if it knew any lawyer jokes, this was its reply:
"How many lawyer jokes are there? Only three. The rest are true stories." To view examples of other helpful, at times humorous, responses AI tools have generated for lawyers, check out this article in the latest issue of JUST. magazine: Spill: Your most surprising answers from AI.
Have you tried this for fun…?
Try using Google Gemini to create a logo for your personal letterhead. Be sure to give instructions on how you want the logo to look, including any colours, visuals, and other personalized touches you would like Gemini to incorporate. As with any interaction with a generative AI tool, don't stop after it generates the first response. Keep prompting it until you have refined your logo to something you are happy with!