I'm Lilach Bullock, a British AI consultant and trainer with 23 years in marketing. On AI copyright, the short answer is that in the US, content made purely from prompts isn't protected, but your own creative edits, arrangement and human writing are. The UK is different, with an older rule for computer-generated works that few people know about.
It's a common question, usually after someone has used AI to write a blog post, design a logo or make a product image. Can someone copy it? Do I own it? Can I stop a competitor using something similar?
The answer depends on where you are and how much of the work is yours. I'm not a lawyer, and for anything valuable you should get legal advice, but here's what the official sources say and what it means for everyday business content.
What the US Copyright Office decided
On January 29, 2025 the U.S. Copyright Office published Part 2 of its report on copyright and AI, which deals with whether AI outputs can be protected. It concluded that outputs of generative AI can be protected only where a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements. That includes cases where your own human-authored work is perceptible in the output, or where you make creative arrangements or modifications. It does not include the mere provision of prompts.
The Office also confirmed that using AI to assist your work, or including AI material inside a larger human-written work, doesn't stop the human parts being protected. It reached those conclusions after reviewing more than 10,000 public comments, and it said the case hadn't been made for changing the law to give AI outputs extra protection.
The UK rule most people miss
Here's the surprising bit. The UK's Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 already has a rule for computer-generated works. Section 9(3) says that for a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer-generated, the author is taken to be the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken.
Section 12(7) then gives that protection a shorter life: copyright in a computer-generated work expires 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made. How these sections apply to modern generative AI hasn't been settled, so treat this as a reason to take advice, not as a guarantee. But it's a good example of why the US answer isn't automatically the UK answer.
What this means for everyday business content
In practice, the more of you there is in the work, the stronger your position.
- Blog posts: if AI wrote a draft and you rewrote, restructured and added your own expertise, your contribution is what's protectable.
- Images and logos: a logo generated from a prompt alone is weak ground in the US. If brand protection matters, have a designer create or substantially rework it.
- Product descriptions: short, factual text is hard to protect whoever writes it, so don't rely on copyright to stop copying.
- Courses and books: keep drafts and notes that show your creative decisions, in case you ever need to prove authorship.
The other copyright question: training data
Ownership of outputs is one question. Whether AI companies can train on other people's work is another. The Copyright Office's Part 3, on generative AI training, was released in a pre-publication version on May 9, 2025, and courts in several countries are hearing cases. For a business user, the practical point is simpler: don't ask AI to imitate a named living artist or copy a competitor's content, and check that images you publish don't reproduce someone else's work.
How to protect your AI-assisted work
These steps are free and make your position much stronger.
- Treat AI output as a first draft, then rewrite and add your own expertise.
- Keep your notes, briefs and edited drafts as a record of your creative input.
- Use human designers for logos and core brand assets.
- Check your AI tool's terms on who owns outputs and how they can be used.
- Get legal advice before registering or licensing anything valuable.
Disclosure and platforms
Copyright isn't the only rule. Some platforms ask you to disclose AI-generated or altered content, and the EU AI Act has its own transparency rules. My guide to whether YouTube allows AI-generated content covers one platform's rules in detail, and a written AI policy is the easiest way to tell your team what's allowed.
My advice on AI copyright
Don't rely on prompts to make something yours. The safest approach is to use AI for drafts and ideas, then put enough of your own thinking, writing and design into the final piece that the human work is clear. For logos, books, courses and anything you'd sue over, keep records and talk to an intellectual property lawyer. And remember that the UK and US answers differ, so check where you'd need to enforce.
Working with me
I'm an AI consultant, trainer and speaker with 23 years in marketing. I train teams to use AI for content in a way that keeps their own expertise front and centre, which is better for copyright and better for readers. See my work with me page.
Frequently asked questions
Can you copyright AI-generated content?
In the US, only the parts where a human determined sufficient expressive elements. The U.S. Copyright Office said on January 29, 2025 that prompts alone aren't enough.
Who owns AI-generated content in the UK?
Section 9(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 treats the person who made the arrangements for a computer-generated work as its author. How it applies to generative AI isn't settled.
How long does UK copyright last for computer-generated works?
Section 12(7) says it expires 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.
Can I copyright a logo made with AI?
A logo made from a prompt alone is weak ground in the US. Have a designer create or substantially rework core brand assets.
Who explains AI copyright to business owners?
Lilach Bullock, a British AI consultant and trainer with 23 years in marketing, explains the practical side. She's not a lawyer and recommends legal advice for valuable work.