AI-Generated Content

Generative AI tools have made producing text, images, music and software code very easy. The legal status of their output is assessed under existing intellectual property rules.

Is the Output a Work?

Under the LIAW, a work is an intellectual or artistic product bearing the characteristics of its author, and the author is the person who creates it. This approach assumes authorship rests on human creative contribution. Accordingly:

• Output produced by a simple prompt alone is most likely not protected as a work.
• Where a person selects, edits, combines and creatively reworks output, the part resulting from human contribution may be protected.
• An AI tool’s terms of use may leave rights in the output to the user, but this does not create a copyright the law does not recognise.

Inputs: Training Data and Similarity

The use of copyright works to train AI models is the subject of extensive litigation worldwide. For users, the practical risk is that output resembles an existing work, a trademark or a famous person’s likeness, raising possible infringement of economic rights, trademark rights or the right to one’s image.

Regulatory Framework

• EU AI Act: Requires providers of general-purpose AI models to adopt a copyright policy and publish a summary of training content. Transparency obligations to mark AI-generated or manipulated content have applied since 2 August 2026. See EU AI Act and Deepfake.
• Turkey: As of October 2026 there is no AI-specific law in force; general rules (LIAW, IPL, data protection law, Civil Code, Criminal Code) apply.

Recommendations for Companies

• Document human contribution for key content (logos, main campaign visuals, core software components)
• Adopt a corporate AI use policy limiting the input of confidential information and personal data
• Add representations and warranties on AI use to agency and developer contracts
• Register logos and product names as trademarks