From Human Hand to Machine Mind: Navigating Copyright in AI-Created Content

The rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creative industries has ignited a pivotal legal and ethical debate: Who owns the rights to works generated by machines, and how can human creativity be protected in an age of intelligent automation? From Human Hand to Machine Mind: Navigating Copyright in AI-Created Content investigates this shifting landscape, exploring the fragile equilibrium between technological advancement and the enduring significance of human authorship in copyright law. As AI systems increasingly produce art, music, literature, and code with minimal or no human intervention, legal frameworks worldwide are confronted with fundamental questions. Should copyright law extend to AI-generated works? If so, who should be legally recognised as the author the programmer who built the algorithm, the user who provided the prompts, or the AI system itself? This paper approaches these questions through a human-centric lens, contending that while AI can amplify human creativity, legal structures must continue to safeguard and reward human intellectual contributions. Through case studies and a comparative analysis of U.S., EU, and Asian legal developments alongside emerging Indian jurisprudence the study identifies critical gaps in existing copyright regimes. It proposes nuanced reforms that preserve the core principles of originality and moral rights while accommodating AI’s transformative potential. By reimagining authorship for the AI era, this research seeks to ensure that technology remains a powerful instrument of human expression rather than a substitute for it.