Generative AI and Moral Rights: Can Authors Claim Attribution When their Works Train the Machines?
- NLR Journal
- Nov 14
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 16
By Muskan Jain & Prachi Sharma, LL.B. ( Business Law), Amity Law School, Noida.
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Abstract
In order to answer a crucial query in contemporary intellectual property law, this paper examines the developing relationship between generative artificial intelligence (AI) and moral rights: are authors entitled to credit when their works are used to train AI models? Deep questions about authorship, recognition, and integrity are brought up by systems like Google Gemini, DALL·E, and ChatGPT, which create original content by analysing enormous databases of human-generated data. The study looks at how traditional legal frameworks which were intended for tangible reproductions rather than data-driven replications of human creativity are challenged by AI's statistical abstraction of creative works.
The paper illustrates the shortcomings of the current legal mechanisms under the Berne Convention and domestic copyright laws in addressing these issues through a comparative analysis of jurisdictions such as the United States, France, Canada, India, and the European Union. The digital age compromises the moral rights of attribution and integrity, as evidenced by landmark cases like Amarnath Sehgal v. Union of India and Snow v. Eaton Centre, as well as more recent disputes like Google's Gemini Nano Banana.
A revised framework for author protection in the age of generative AI is put forth in the paper. It includes reforms like collective licensing models, attribution-by-design procedures, dataset transparency requirements, and an AI-specific moral rights regime. In order to ensure that the human identity and creativity inherent in AI systems are properly recognised, these measures seek to strike a balance between innovation and ethical accountability. In order to maintain cultural integrity, creative dignity, and the essence of human authorship, the study argues that upholding moral rights in the era of artificial intelligence is not only required by law but also morally necessary.
Keywords:Â Generative Artificial Intelligence, Moral Rights, Dataset Transparency, Artificial Intelligence Ethics.
