Licences and law / Generative AI
AI and copyright: what to document before delivering creative work
“Do I own this?” combines several questions. Separate the contribution that may be protected, the generator’s terms and any third-party rights involved in the finished work.
Using an AI tool does not settle authorship
A piece can combine photographs, generated elements and human creative decisions. Assessing its rights requires distinguishing those contributions and the applicable law.
Spain’s Intellectual Property Law links authorship to a natural person and protects original creations. Rights arise through creation; registration does not automatically turn any output into a protected work.
Saving a prompt or making a small edit therefore does not establish exclusive protection for the entire file.
What the US Copyright Office says
Its January 2025 report distinguishes purely generated material from original human contributions. Creative selection, arrangement or modification may qualify for protection case by case; prompts alone do not provide sufficient control with the technologies assessed.
This concerns the US framework. It should not be presented as a Spanish registration rule or a guarantee for every composition.
Separate three questions
| Question | What to review |
|---|---|
| May I use the result? | Service terms and rights to input materials |
| What contribution can I protect? | Original human authorship and applicable law |
| Can I promise exclusivity? | Available rights and delivery conditions |
Also review brands, designs, likenesses and third-party resources appearing in the piece. Failing to recognise an existing work does not guarantee that no conflict exists.
Similarity to a style alone should not be confused with reproducing protected expression. The specific elements and legal context matter.
Keep useful production records
Retain references and permissions, the model and subscription used, intermediate outputs and editable files. Record the creative decisions embodied in the result: composition, drawing, modelling, editing or other modifications.
For example, if you generate a background and draw the product separately, retain both elements and the final composition. That separation helps explain the process and assess the scope of delivery.
A production record provides evidence; it is not a legal certification of authorship.
Agree on the delivery terms
Describe what the client receives and which conditions apply to each resource. If the assignment requires exclusivity, registration or a broad transfer of rights, assess those requirements before production and obtain specialist advice where needed.
Keep this assessment separate from labelling AI-generated content. Disclosing AI use does not grant copyright or replace permissions.
To put in writing what is delivered and under which rights, tell us which part of the piece was generated.
Sources
Checked on September 20, 2026