Who Owns the Words? Legal and Copyright Risks in AI-Generated Business Documents

Stay Ai Wise

As organisations increasingly rely on tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to produce business documents, a pressing question emerges: who owns the output? The rise of large language models (LLMs) has ushered in an age of co-authorship between humans and machines but the law has yet to catch up.

Under most current laws (including in Australia), only work created by a human author qualifies for copyright protection. That means content wholly generated by an AI — without meaningful human input — may not be legally protected at all. Which means that if no person owns it, no one can stop others from copying it.

When AI is used as a tool to refine, restructure, or summarise and the user provides creative input or editorial control, the resulting work is more likely to be protected. But drawing that line may prove murky.

LLMs are trained on huge datasets, which may include copyrighted material. While tools like Copilot or ChatGPT never directly copy content, they can inadvertently echo protected phrases or styles. If your AI-generated content closely resembles another work, your organisation could be held liable even if the AI did the writing.

AI-generated reports, emails, or briefs can contain errors, bias or misleading claims. If content leads to reputational damage or legal liability, the responsibility sits squarely with the user or publisher. Not the AI.

  • Always review and edit AI-generated content before use
  • Avoid relying on AI for legal, medical or financial advice
  • Keep clear records of how and when AI was used in content creation
  • Develop internal policies for attribution, review and disclosure

Final Word

AI can help us write faster but it is not risk-free. As legal frameworks evolve, smart businesses must adopt clear policies to ensure human oversight and, at all times, treat AI as a collaborator rather than a ghostwriter.

For help drafting AI use policies and communication guidelines, visit www.gapswriting.com.