Generative AI and Copyright: FIRSH Contributed to the CSPLA’s Work
On July 9, 2026, the Higher Council for Literary and Artistic Property (CSPLA) released its report on the legal status of works produced by artificial intelligence.
FIRSH had the honor of contributing to the work of this task force, chaired by Professor Alexandra Bensamoun and reported on by Julie Groffe-Charrier, Senior Lecturer (HDR), by responding to the questionnaire sent to professionals, creators, companies, and digital industry stakeholders.
The report establishes a fundamental distinction. When genuine human creative direction remains identifiable, the use of AI does not preclude copyright protection. Conversely, purely synthetic works, generated without significant human intervention, fall outside the scope of copyright and, according to the commission, belong to the public domain.
From Theory to Practice
In its contribution, FIRSH drew particular attention to the practical difficulties faced by companies:
- proof of human creative input;
- ownership and use of generated content;
- intellectual property safeguards that are sometimes impossible to provide;
- the risks of infringement, free-riding, and violations of personality rights or personal data;
- as well as the allocation of responsibilities among suppliers, users, and distributors of AI systems.
Certain approaches discussed during the mission—notably that of sui generis protection—were ultimately not adopted. This is also the value of such consultations: to compare doctrinal analyses, legal policy choices, and operational realities before establishing the rule.
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FIRSHLAB’s mission |
This contribution is fully aligned with the work of FIRSHLAB, the firm’s legal innovation lab.
FIRSHLAB analyzes the transformations in the law brought about by artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and emerging technologies, using an approach that combines comparative law, research, litigation practice, and feedback from the field.
Its mission is to use practical experience to help shape the law of tomorrow and to develop proposals that are useful to businesses, legal practitioners, and public authorities.
We extend our warmest thanks to the CSPLA, Professor Alexandra Bensamoun, and Julie Groffe-Charrier for the quality of their work, as well as for the emphasis placed on consultation and dialogue with stakeholders in the field.
