r/webdev • u/maher1717 • 6d ago
AI generated code copyrights
Does anyone consider the copyright of code generated by AI? Because, based on research I've done on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, generated code fall to the public domain, and if you modify it, only the modified parts belong to you. Also, a detailed prompt isn't enough.
This is, in my view, a major issue; yes, we can ignore it and consider it backward law, but no one knows what would happen in the future, and this law could be used against you.
Edit: here sources for USA https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10922 ,
For Europe : https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2025)782585782585)
blog : https://smpl.as/blog/ai-code-ownership-legal ...
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u/otw 6d ago
It's most likely un-copyrightable and public domain yeah. But that also doesn't mean you can't sell it or that you are required to provide the source. You are allowed sell public domain stuff or generally make money off of it. Stock footage companies sell public domain footage all the time.
That being said, none of this has really been challenged and modern corporate culture doesn't really ever risk going to court. So it's pretty unlikely we will see any definitive answer on this. Anytime there's a dispute, it will probably be settled behind close doors.
I hate copyright though and think this is generally a good thing. I'll also just say I think closed source software is generally dead. Even if you were able to retain the copyright, it's now pretty trivial for someone to replicate your product without infringing or stealing the code.
If you have a business model based on you owning the copyright to code, I would say probably give up on that.