Tech’s AI Coding Boom on Collision Course With Copyright

Director Ivy Estoesta spoke to Law360 about the increasing reliance by tech companies on “vibe coding,” or the use of natural-language prompts to direct generative AI to write software code. Companies may be undermining the certainty of their ability to claim copyright protection under current U.S. Copyright Law and exposing themselves to greater risk when disputes arise.

Estoesta states that many companies are already trying to track and document human involvement in software development, anticipating that such records could become crucial if copyright claims are ever tested. “We do have clients who are actively creating governance documents for how AI should be used to be able to maintain your position that the content you create is still protectable under traditional IP tools,” she said.

At the same time, Estoesta said some clients only recently discovered that using AI may limit the availability or strength of copyright protection for certain aspects of their works. “A lot of them were surprised to learn this,” she said.

Estoesta also noted that the Copyright Office’s position is unlikely to change unless the technology changes so “a human prompt can very succinctly control” an AI output, adding that the Copyright Office’s view of the current state of technology is that “the AI is deciding what that’s going to look like or what that code is going to say.”