This week, I had the chance to attend a fascinating and insightful panel discussion, “Copyright in the Age of AI: Legal Implications and Emerging Issues,” hosted by the OBA Entertainment, Media & Communication Law and IT & IP Sections of the Ontario Bar Association
The panel featured speakers from Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Fasken, and CBC/Radio-Canada who shared their incredible knowledge and perspectives on how artificial intelligence is reshaping copyright law.
As a law student interested in intellectual property and technology, it was eye-opening to hear how quickly AI is challenging long-standing legal concepts. The discussion touched on several key themes:
⚖️ Authorship & Originality
AI is being used in two primary ways: AI-generated and AI-assisted works. Canadian copyright law, however, is still built around human-created work. Currently, we can only examine how AI-assisted content may have legal implications, as fully AI-generated works don’t fit within the existing legal framework.
🍁 Canadian Content Protection
Canada has a mandate to protect Canadian content, traditionally assessed by who created it. But what happens when AI plays a significant role? For example, if music is produced using AI, what qualifies it as “Canadian”? Is it a Canadian AI program? A Canadian user writing the prompts? These questions raise important policy implications, particularly around how to ensure human creators aren’t displaced by AI in our creative industries.
📜 Licensing & Enforcement
With uncertainty around copyright ownership, companies are rethinking licensing agreements. Many content creators are turning to contracts as a more reliable form of protection.
As the AI market evolves, it’s clear that our legal frameworks must adapt. Canadian law remains unclear on many of these emerging issues, making this an exciting and complex area to watch. It is clear that as AI continues to transform how we create and consume content, the legal world must evolve just as quickly.
This seminar reinforced my passion for exploring the intersection of law, technology, and creativity, and how future lawyers can help shape that space responsibly.
Thank you, Samantha Glass LL. B., LLM Candidate Alessia Monastero and Emma Romano for leading an insightful program. #CopyrightLaw #IntellectualProperty #TechLaw #MediaLaw #OBA #LawStudent #Innovation #EmergingTech
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