The Future Path of Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law in the Asian Pacific

Abstract

When the debates on artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property come up, the examples given—whether in the form of court cases or new legislation—are often from Europe or the United States. This narrower geographical focus is understandable considering that most high-profile lawsuits and legislative activities originated from these two regions. Open AI, Stability AI, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and many other major players in the AI debates are also based in the United States. What is frequently overlooked, however, are the many interesting developments in other parts of the world.

Drawing on the keynote remarks delivered at the 2023 Conference of the Asian Pacific Copyright Association, this article begins by discussing the latest developments in Asia concerning the copyrightability of AI-generated works. It then examines the copyright exceptions that have been adopted in the region to enable text and data mining and computational data analysis. These exceptions are instrumental in training AI systems and advancing their development.

This article concludes by offering three closing observations that aim to shed light on the future development of copyright norms in the AI area—both in the Asian Pacific region and at the global level. These observations address the following questions: (1) Are AI-related copyright law developments across the world converging or diverging? (2) How likely is it for us to see a future international treaty at the intersection of AI and copyright? (3) What is the best way forward to address human creations that have benefited from the use of generative AI tools in the creative process?