Artificial Intelligence And The Future Of Property Law: Authorship, Ownership And Legal Recognition
- IJLLR Journal
- May 15
- 1 min read
Raewa Bharat Parab, O.P. Jindal Global University
ABSTRACT
Artificial intelligence (AI) in the present age has started to disrupt the traditional legal meaning of authorship, ownership, and property due to its rapid development. The regimes of intellectual property with their long- standing history based on human agency and creativity are now challenged by the unprecedented need to accommodate the machine-generated outputs that have economic and originality value and commercial usefulness. This paper discusses whether AI-generated creations can qualify as property under natural law theories and legal doctrines that are already in existence. It also discusses the consequences of the silence of law, specifically the ‘Transfer of Property Act’, 1882, the ‘Copyright Act’, 1957 and the ‘Patents act 1970’, and examines the effects of these gaps on making AI- generated works legally recognized.
The paper argues that although AI cannot be identified as a legal subject matter, AI-generated works ought to be treated as property, as long as sufficient human contribution can be established. AI cannot be given the sole status of an owner or author and therefore, the author argues for join- ownership or authorship rather than complete neglect. Lack of legislative clarity in India leaves everyone confused, yet the statutory material provides flexibility in interpretation. The legal principle of recognizing AI-generated works as property is not only the necessary legal step but the logical progression of property law according to the technological change.
