June 18, 2026: Intellectual Property and AI in U.S and Europe

Diving back into intellectual property, I was wondering how the U.S. and Europe handle it regarding AI. 

According to this article by Vilhelm Schröder and Max Visser from a Finnish business law firm and this entry by Addison Hichman from the University of Miami, Europe and the United States are approaching this issue in different ways.

In the European Union, AI training is primarily governed by specific "text and data mining" exceptions. These rules allow AI developers to analyze copyrighted content under certain conditions, but rights holders can opt out. The EU has also introduced additional transparency obligations through the AI Act, requiring providers of general-purpose AI models to respect copyright reservations and disclose information about training data.

The United States relies on the more flexible fair use doctrine. Courts evaluate AI training on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as whether the use is transformative and whether it harms the market for the original work. Recent cases have produced mixed outcomes, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding AI and copyright law in the US.

Despite these different frameworks, the U.S. and EU share an important principle: fully autonomous AI-generated works are generally ineligible for copyright protection, whereas AI-assisted works may be protected if sufficient human creativity is present. In both jurisdictions, AI is increasingly viewed as a tool that can support human expression rather than replace it.

However, questions remain, such as how much human input is sufficient to establish authorship.The relationship between AI and copyright protection/intellectual property remains a work in progress