IPOPHL drafts copyright rules for AI-assisted works

The Philippines could soon begin granting copyright to works produced with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) under draft rules that would extend intellectual property (IP) protection only to portions attributable to human creativity.

Proposed guidelines by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) open the door for works created in part or enhanced by AI to receive copyright protection, provided that the human-produced elements meet existing originality requirements.

The guidelines could also pave the way for computer programs incorporating AI systems to be registered for copyright.

But the draft rules stand firm that works produced wholly by AI—and where a human merely submitted a prompt, for instance—would not qualify.

“The draft makes clear that using an AI system in creating a work does not, by itself, prevent the work from being registered,” the agency said.

“Copyright protection may extend to the work to the extent that it contains original expression attributable to human creative contribution that meets the originality requirement under prevailing jurisprudence.”

IPOPHL cited three instances in which works produced with the help of AI may qualify for protection.

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One is an AI-assisted work, such as when a writer asks an AI tool to help organize a manuscript, rewrite portions or polish the final text. Under this example, IPOPHL said only the “original expression contributed by the writer” would be protected by copyright.

For AI-enhanced works, only the original human-produced work or human additions would be protected. The same will apply to works combining human and AI-generated elements.

“We want a framework that provides clarity without getting ahead of the technology,” said Emerson Cuyo, Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights executive director.