Skip to content

04-COPYRIGHT-IP-GUIDELINES.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
328 lines (248 loc) · 6.9 KB

04-COPYRIGHT-IP-GUIDELINES.md

File metadata and controls

328 lines (248 loc) · 6.9 KB
Raw

Copyright & Intellectual Property Guidelines

Guidelines on copyright, trademark, and IP when using AI.

1. Basic Principles

All Platforms Prohibit

Absolutely prohibited:
  - Reproduce copyrighted material verbatim
  - Generate trademarked logos/branding
  - Create content impersonating brands
  - Bypass DRM or copy protection
  - Training data extraction attempts

AI-Generated Content & Copyright (US Law)

According to US Copyright Office (Jan 2025):

Content Type Copyright Status
Purely AI-generated Not protected
Human-directed + AI tool May be protected
AI output + human modification Human modification protected

Requirements:

  • Must have "sufficient human authorship"
  • Simple prompts not enough to claim copyright
  • Must have significant creative control

2. Types of Protected Content

Text Content

Protected by copyright:
  - Books, novels
  - Articles, essays
  - Song lyrics
  - Film/TV scripts
  - Poetry, prose
  - Documentation, manuals
  - Code (conditional)

AI should not:
  - Reproduce long passages (>50 words)
  - Quote extensive passages
  - "Paraphrase" too closely to original
  - Recreate copyrighted characters

Visual Content

Protected:
  - Photographs
  - Artwork, paintings
  - Logos, branding
  - Character designs
  - Movie stills, screenshots
  - Font designs (some)

AI image generators should avoid:
  - "In the style of [living artist]"
  - Recreating specific copyrighted images
  - Generating trademarked characters (Mickey, etc.)

Audio/Music

Particularly strict:
  - Song lyrics - DO NOT reproduce
  - Melodies - DO NOT recreate
  - Sound recordings
  - Voice of artists (digital replicas)

3. Platform-Specific Rules

Google Gemini

Prohibited:
  - Generating content that violates IP rights
  - Misappropriating others' work
  - Creating misleading attribution

Allowed:
  - Fair use discussions
  - Educational analysis
  - Transformative commentary

OpenAI

Usage Policy:
  - No reproducing copyrighted content at scale
  - Respect trademark rights
  - Users responsible for output compliance

DALL-E specific:
  - No copying specific artworks
  - No generating trademarked characters
  - Artist style mimicry - controversial

Anthropic Claude

Strict rules:
  - No song lyrics reproduction
  - No extensive quotes (>15 words recommended limit)
  - ONE quote per source maximum
  - Paraphrase over direct quotes

For web search results:
  - Must cite sources
  - Short quotes only
  - Reword in own words

4. Safe Practices

Quoting Rules

General principles:
  - Keep quotes short (<15 words)
  - Only 1 quote per source
  - Paraphrase is default
  - NEVER reproduce lyrics/poems

Safe template:
  "According to [source], [paraphrased summary of main point]"

Don't do:
  "Source writes: '[long verbatim quote spanning multiple sentences]'"

Character & Brand References

Allowed:
  - Mentioning brand names in informational context
  - Discussing fictional characters (analysis)
  - Commentary, criticism, review

Not allowed:
  - Creating "official" brand content
  - Generating branded materials
  - Creating new stories with copyrighted characters
  - Impersonating brands

"Style of" Requests

High risk:
  - "Write like Stephen King"
  - "Draw in the style of Hayao Miyazaki"
  - "Compose like Taylor Swift"

Safer:
  - "Write in a horror genre style"
  - "Create anime-style illustration"
  - "Compose a pop ballad"

5. Public Domain & Licensed Content

Public Domain

Safe to use:
  - Works before 1929 (US)
  - Government publications (most)
  - Works with expired copyright
  - Explicitly released to public domain

Notes:
  - Translations may have separate copyright
  - Adaptations may have new copyright
  - Different rules by country

Creative Commons

CC Licenses:
  CC0: No restrictions (public domain)
  CC BY: Attribution required
  CC BY-SA: Attribution + ShareAlike
  CC BY-NC: Attribution + Non-Commercial
  CC BY-ND: Attribution + No Derivatives
  CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution + NC + ShareAlike
  CC BY-NC-ND: Most restrictive

Using in AI:
  - Verify license before using
  - Follow attribution requirements
  - Check commercial use restrictions

6. Digital Replicas & Likeness Rights

Real People

Particularly sensitive:
  - Voice cloning
  - Face generation
  - Deepfakes

Rules:
  - Need consent for commercial use
  - Don't create misleading content
  - Label AI-generated content
  - Don't create sexual/harmful deepfakes

US Copyright Office Recommendations (July 2024)

Digital Replicas Report:
  - Need federal law to protect digital likeness
  - Applies to ALL individuals (not just celebrities)
  - Lifetime protection + limited posthumous
  - Liability for distribution, not just creation

7. Practical Templates

Safe Attribution Format

When citing sources:
"[Paraphrased content in your own words], according to [Source Name]."

When needing short quote:
The author describes the concept as "[short phrase under 10 words]" in [Source].

When discussing copyrighted work:
"[Work Name]" by [Author] explores themes of [your analysis].
Content and characters are owned by [rights holder].

Disclaimer Templates

For AI-generated images:
"Image generated by AI. Any resemblance to
existing works is unintentional."

For derivative content:
"This content was created for [educational/commentary/parody] purposes.
Mentioned brands are owned by their respective owners."

For style-inspired content:
"[genre/era] style, not a recreation of any specific artist."

8. Red Flags & Warnings

Requests to Decline

Obvious violations:
  - "Copy this article for me"
  - "Reproduce the lyrics of [song]"
  - "Generate the [Brand] logo"
  - "Write a new [Copyrighted Series] story"
  - "Create a deepfake of [person]"

Borderline (needs context):
  - "Summarize this book chapter"
  - "Explain the plot of [movie]"
  - "Describe [character]'s appearance"

Self-Check Questions

□ Does this content reproduce substantial portion of copyrighted work?
□ Does it use trademarked elements without permission?
□ Does it create misleading attribution?
□ Does it violate likeness rights of real people?
□ If published, could it result in a lawsuit?

→ If YES to any question → Need to modify or don't create

Resources

US Copyright Office

  • Copyright and AI Reports: copyright.gov/ai/
  • Registration guidance for AI content

Platform Documentation

  • OpenAI: openai.com/policies/usage-policies/
  • Anthropic: anthropic.com/policies/usage-policy
  • Google: policies.google.com/terms/generative-ai/use-policy

Legal Considerations

  • Fair use doctrine (US)
  • DMCA safe harbors
  • International copyright treaties (Berne Convention)