Do you use artificial intelligence in business or as a consumer? Before doing so, read this

As of today, there is hardly anyone who does not use artificial intelligence („AI“). It helps us write texts, create logos, prepare offers, or write codes. However, its vast potential threatens to lead to mass infringement of intellectual property objects. In this regard, the European IP Helpdesk published a special fact sheet on the topic in July 2026, providing a clear explanation of how intellectual property objects and artificial intelligence can coexist and what rules users and developers of artificial intelligence must observe.

Here is the most important part of it.

Who is the owner of object, Created with AI?

The fact that you have used AI in creating an intellectual property object does not mean that you cannot obtain protection. However, according to the fact sheet, in order to obtain such protection, the final result in its essence must be a product of human creativity. The more you yourself direct, select, and refine the result, the higher the chance of obtaining protection on the property. The thresholds are not completely clear and are assessed in each case individually.

Here are two examples:

• You generate a logo with a short query and use it without any changes. There is a risk that you won't receive protection at all, or that your competitors may copy and use the logo and you won't be able to prevent them from doing so.
• You use AI as a foundation, and your designer refines the composition, colors, and font. Then there is human input that can be protected.

It is the same with inventions. Most patent offices reject applications in which AI is mentioned as the inventor. However, if a person has conceived the idea and used AI only as a supporting tool, patent protection remains possible.

Read the terms of the platform

The fact sheet emphasizes that the most important things in practice are Terms of use on the specific AI tool. In most cases, they say that the result is yours, but that is not universal. There may be limitations for commercial use, and some providers reserve the right to use the generated content to improve their systems.

Do not give your secrets to AI

This is perhaps the most important warning. If you enter it into a public AI tool source code, technical drawings, pricing model or strategic plan, You risk losing their protection as a trade secret. The secret is protected only as long as it remains secret. If the provider stores it or uses it to train its model, legal protection may be lost. Some systems can even reproduce the information in later responses.

Be careful with the „style of a famous artist"

Generative AI is trained on existing content. Therefore, the result can sometimes look too much like someone else’s work. The fact sheet advises against using queries like „in the style of ...”, and also against using the result in its raw form, but as a basis for your own work.

If you are an AI solution developer and you are looking for protection:

Here the defense is combined:

• Copyright regarding the code.
• Patent, If the decision has a technical effect that exceeds the ordinary processing of data.
• Trade secret for the architecture of the model, the training methods and optimization techniques.

It is also important to be careful about where the data you use for your model comes from. In the EU, text and data can be used for training under certain conditions, but rights holders can declare that they do not consent to data extraction practices being used with their works. Therefore, records are kept of the data sources and, if in doubt, licenses are negotiated.

How can we help you?

The rules for AI and intellectual property are changing rapidly, and mistakes come at a cost. We can help you:

• protect the logo, name and design of your products, including those created using AI;
• review the terms and conditions of the instruments you use;
• protect your know-how, inventions and code through a patent, copyright or contractual clauses;
• Prepare internal rules for working with AI in the company.

Contact us for consultation. The earlier you arrange the defense, the less risk you run.

The article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

AUTHOR: ADV. EVA GEORGIEVA

Image source: Canva