AI and Copyright

I had breakfast with an international friend over the weekend and we chatted about the current state of authorship and global publishing. We agreed there’s no doubt that artificial intelligence has completely transformed the way books are now researched, planned and written and that AI can speed up workflows, overcome writer's block and improve productivity. And, that it should enhance human creativity, not replace it. A thorny issue arose. Who actually owns the copyright in an AI-generated book? 

*Time for a disclaimer, I'm not a lawyer and only expressing an opinion. 

In the United States, the Copyright Office has made its position clear. Works created entirely by AI, without sufficient human creative input, are generally not protected by copyright. Ireland has not taken this position as there is currently no Irish legislation that specifically states whether wholly AI-generated text qualifies for full copyright protection. Instead, copyright continues to be governed by the Copyright and Related Rights Act (2000), which is built on the long-established principle that copyright protects original human intellectual creation. Across the European Union, including Ireland, the law still assumes that copyright arises from human creativity rather than machine-generated output and that leaves authors operating in something of a legal grey area.

Now, imagine you've written a business book using AI. Your name is on the cover. You use it to build credibility, attract clients and establish yourself as an expert as many people do. But if much of the content was generated by AI with only minimal editing, questions could legitimately arise over whether the finished work attracts the same level of copyright protection as a traditionally written book (and, for now, I'm completely ignoring the moral arguments). Irish courts have not yet provided definitive guidance on this issue, meaning no one can say with complete certainty where exactly the legal boundary lies.

Perhaps the real copyright value comes from the creative decisions you make afterwards when you rewrite the text in your own words; develop your own arguments; include your personal experiences and expertise; change the structure and refine the tone and style. In this, you are creating something that more reflects your own intellectual (human) effort. That human contribution is far more likely to attract copyright protection under Irish and European law.

The legal landscape surrounding AI and copyright continues to evolve across Europe. Alongside existing copyright law, the EU AI Act is introducing new obligations around transparency and the responsible use of AI, although it does not itself determine who owns copyright in AI-generated works. 

For Irish authors, the practical advice is simple: If your name is going on the cover, make sure your creative contribution is unmistakable and that readers are buying your ideas, your experience and your voice. 

©Niall MacGiolla Bhuí, PhD (July, 2026).