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Generative AI tools are trained on massive collections of materials – both public domain and copyrighted. These materials are scraped from the internet without the consent of the creators, and with no opportunity for recourse other than lawsuits. As of March 2025, there are over 40 lawsuits in process related to the use of copyrighted works in training AI. The plaintiffs in the lawsuits claim the use of copyrighted works without permission is an infringement of copyright. In opposition, some legal scholars have pointed out that non-consumptive uses of copyrighted content have been considered fair use in previous court cases (Google Books, HathiTrust).
While these cases are in process, we won’t have definitive answers about whether the use of copyrighted works in AI training data is legal.
In contrast, the US Copyright Office and courts have stated clearly that because human authorship is required for copyright protection of a work, generative AI generally does not create copyrightable output.
Aside from the question of copyrightability (whether or not a work qualifies for copyright protection), it is also important to understand that output created by generative AI tools is not guaranteed to be accurate or free from legal liability. It is well documented that generative AI sometimes creates “hallucinations,” which are outputs that purport to be true but are demonstrably false. Additionally, textual or visual outputs created by generative AI might subject a user to liability such as copyright infringement. This becomes more likely when you are using for instance large chunks of code from generative AI tools or are asking a generative AI tool to create an image of a well known entity like Snoopy or Mickey Mouse. The general guidance in the Copyright Crash Course about avoiding infringement also applies to works of authorship created with the assistance of generative AI.
OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE: BEST PRACTICES
Tiffany I. Leung, Taiane de Azevedo Cardoso, Amaryllis Mavragani, Gunther Eysenbach, Best Practices for Using AI Tools as an Author, Peer Reviewer, or Editor, August 31, 2023. Note the sections for authors, peer reviewers, and editors.
CHECK: THE JOURNAL'S POLICY ON AI USE
The Libraries highly recommend that authors check an individual publisher’s current policy on AI use before engaging with the publisher, in regards to publishing, reviewing, or editing academic research. Policies differ from one publisher to another, and they will change as issues like copyright, fair use, and AI ethics also change.
Example: Elsevier's Generative AI policies for journals, accessed on March 4, 2025. Note that there are sections for authors, reviewers, and editors.
COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION ETHICS: POSITION STATEMENT
COPE is the Committee on Publication Ethics, and promotes "integrity in scholarly research and its publication." See their Authorship and AI tools: COPE position statement, published February 13, 2023. They state -
"AI tools cannot meet the requirements for authorship as they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. … Authors who use AI tools … must be transparent in disclosing … how the AI tool was used and which tool was used. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an AI tool, and are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics. (COPE, 2023, paras. 1 & 2)"
George Washington University's AI Litigation Database
AI Lawsuits in the United States
Global AI Law and Policy Tracker
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE
LEGAL OPINIONS: RESEARCH ARTICLES IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS
LEGAL OPINIONS: BLOG POSTS
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LIBRARY PRINCIPLES
The content of this LibGuide is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Libraries staff does not act as legal counsel to the University or to any members of the University community.
This LibGuide is an introduction to an evolving field for faculty, students, and staff. Because this technology is evolving, the information here may become outdated at times.
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