Source: South China Morning Post

South China Morning Post – A court in East China has ruled that an AI-generated image is eligible for copyright protection, marking a legal precedent in the field of artificial intelligence and intellectual property. The court determined that the output, though produced by an algorithm, reflects sufficient creative input and originality to merit copyright under Chinese law.

The decision is considered a significant shift in judicial interpretation, suggesting that non-human authorship may be granted legal protection under certain conditions. Legal scholars highlight that this ruling could influence upcoming reforms in China’s copyright regime and may set a precedent for similar cases internationally.

The ruling fuels global debate on whether AI-generated works can or should be protected, and on what basis—especially as technologies increasingly blur the line between human and machine creativity.