The topic of text generation using a chatbot has recently taken over social media. Publications related to the American artificial intelligence research laboratory, OpenAI, and the development of the ChatGPT function are taking over the public space on a daily basis. In today's publication, we will focus on introducing the subject of texts developed using precisely ChatGPT, in the context of the regulations in force in Poland - in particular the Act of 4 February 1994 on copyright and related rights (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2509) - hereinafter the "Copyright Act".

"The result of a person's work", referred to by the legislator as "the manifestation of creative activity of an individual character" - a circumstance that determines further considerations.

It should be reiterated, following the legislator, that the object of copyright is any manifestation of creative activity of individual character, established in any form, regardless of value, purpose and manner of expression. This is how the legislator defines a work in Article 1(1) of the Copyright Act. Therefore, does the product of artificial intelligence, or more precisely the effect of the work algorithms of ChatGPT, constitute a work within the meaning of the applicable provisions of Polish law? The decisive factor is "whether the intangible product fulfils all the prerequisites listed in the cited provision, namely: it is the result of work of a human being (creator), is a manifestation of his creative activity and has an individual character. Thus, the provisions of the contract itself, providing for the coverage by copyright protection of the result of a man's work, do not produce legal effects unless it is a manifestation of his creative activity." - so the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 29 September 2020 ref. no.: II GSK 607/18.

In the case under consideration, the basic element of human labour is missing, as the creator in the case of ChatGPT's text generation is artificial intelligence. The above circumstance is crucial (and not the only one) to clearly indicate that the texts produced using ChatGPT's chatbot do not constitute works within the meaning of the Copyright Act.

Interference with texts created by ChatGPT.

It should be clarified that current legislation does not regulate the issue of interference with texts created using ChatGPT's chatbot. In such a situation, it seems impossible, or rather ineffective, to include in a work contract with an entity that provides us with a text created by an artificial intelligence, provisions in which our counterparty transfers rights to the text, allows the exercise of a dependent copyright, etc. Thus, any provisions that are standard when concluding, for example, a work contract with a text writer (copywriter), are not justifiable to be applied to the purchase of a text that has been entirely produced by artificial intelligence. Is it therefore possible to interfere with texts created by ChatGPT? The regulations do not explicitly prohibit this. In addition, OpenAI makes it possible to copy any part of the generated text and further edit it by the end user.

ChatGPT is not the only solution that is increasingly being used by users who want to generate texts with a specific theme.

ChatGPT is undoubtedly the most popular text generator, as it was the first (probably). Alternatives include platforms such as:

  • Chatsonic from Writesonic, which is additionally integrated with Google functions;
  • Perplexity AI;
  • Jasper AI;
  • YOU;
  • Rytr
  • Character AI, which enables real-time dialogue with artificial intelligence;
  • Tome, which allows the generation of stories, stories, stories, etc.

The list does not end there, as each week sees new developments that improve on the previous ones. One example is the extremely advanced functionality of the new ChatGPT-4 release, which continues to set new standards for generating different types of content using artificial intelligence.

Are we facing a change in copyright law?

It should be unequivocally pointed out that the day the ChatGPT chatbot-related functionality appeared, it permanently changed the outlook on the issue of the generation of content, images, algorithms, etc., by artificial intelligence. Certainly, changes will be made in the legal environment, however, at the time of drafting this blog post, there is not even an indication of the directions in which the Polish legislator intends to follow when attempting to regulate the issue of copyright in the effects of artificial intelligence.



Legal basis:

Act of 4 February 1994 on copyright and related rights (Journal of Laws 2022, item 2509).