Michael Justus, Carlton Fields, Bloomberg Law; AI Makes Securing Copyright Protection for Software Code Tricky
[Kip Currier: I recommend this brief article in Bloomberg Law; the authors do a great job identifying AI, IP, and human and AI-related coding issues right now, such as "vibe coding". They also provide practical strategies for endeavoring to secure copyright protections for code.]
"Copyright protection for software code is being sacrificed, knowingly or not, for the speed and efficiency of AI coding.
This rapid shift in the role of humans from writing code to managing artificial intelligence tools upends traditional copyright protection strategies. Original human-written code is generally copyrightable. But AI-generated code that lacks human authorship is ineligible for copyright protection under US law.
“Vibe coding”—where humans describe a desired software program in natural language and GenAI tools write the code—is pervasive. This isn’t limited to the tech industry. Employees across industries are vibe coding software solutions, which can be valuable to employers.
Developers estimate 42% of code is AI-generated or assisted and the number was expected to increase significantly, according to an October 2025 survey.
The lack of copyright protections is a big deal...
The key is bespoke curation into a creative whole from many options."
