Expert lecture by Alina Trapova (University College London) on Copyright law and generative AI

AI-generated output has been a topic for discussion in the past years in academic, institutional and governmental circles. The topic involves a copyright challenge on both the input and output stage: (i) is an AI system engaging in copyright infringing activities when it processes information for the purposes of training; and (ii) are the outputs of these systems protected with copyright law as original works? While answers to these questions have remained difficult to find, a new type of AI systems have come to light – generative AI. These typically engage in the so-called prompt engineering activity whereby images and music are generated as a result of written text instructions. The copyright law puzzle becomes even more difficult to put together. This expert lecture will paint the picture of these issues by referring to EU, UK, and US copyright law due to ongoing litigation in these jurisdictions, as well as legislative and policy initiatives.

Dr Alina Trapova has been a Lecturer in IP Law at University College London (UCL) and a Co-Director of the Institute for Brand and Innovation Law (IBIL) at UCL Laws since January 2023. Prior to that, she worked at the University of Nottingham as an Assistant Professor in Law and Autonomous Systems and Bocconi University as a Research Assistant and Coordinator of the LLM in European Business and Social Law. Alina's research interests focus on copyright law and the implications of machine learning and artificial intelligence on the creative industries. Alina also has a keen interest in EU law, particularly in examining the EU's law-making powers in the field of IP law. She is also a keen blogger and acts as a Co-Managing Editor of the well-known Kluwer Copyright Blog.