The Legal Status of AI-Generated Content and Its Protection under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law
si yang Chen, xin xuan Long · Journal of Macau University of Science and Technology · 2025
With the rapid development of China's artificial intelligence industry, the lack of institutional protection for legal safeguards of AI-generated content has become increasingly evident. According to traditional legal principles, artificial intelligence is not recognized as a legal subject and therefore cannot constitute an author as defined by copyright law. From a legal hermeneutics perspective, AI-generated content also struggles to meet the originality requirement stipulated by copyright law, which means that the rights and interests associated with such content cannot be protected under the current copyright framework. Article 18 of the Draft Amendment to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that “the legitimate rights and interests of business operators in commercial data shall not be harmed.” Although this provision primarily addresses commercial data, it can also be interpreted to apply to AI-generated content. Granting limited rights to AI-generated content through the Anti-Unfair Competition Law would not only maintain the stability of the copyright legal system but also align with the law's function of providing “complementary protection” for intellectual property. Furthermore, it would effectively mitigate the risk of “misattribution”, thereby establishing a legal development pathway for the artificial intelligence industry.