AI and copyright: major issues and direction of travel in the UK, EU and China in Q2 2026

AI is a technology of generational importance, the transformative potential of which has yet to be fully seen. Of the legal and regulatory issues that AI has heralded, AI and copyright issues have been among the most contentious. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed worldwide, and despite years of deliberation between lawmakers and stakeholders, uncertainty looks to remain on a national, regional and global basis. In this series of three articles, we 'take the temperature' of AI and copyright issues as they stand in Q2 2026. The first explores whether AI training can result in copyright infringement. The second explores whether AI-generated content can infringe pre-existing copyright works. The third and final explores whether AI-generated content can be protected by copyright.  

In this series, we have focused on the UK, EU and China, three of the most influential territories in setting the AI and copyright agenda worldwide. However, this is not to say that important developments are not happening elsewhere. Most importantly, the US is home to by far the most AI and copyright-related suits, particularly on the issue of whether AI training and outputs can result in copyright infringement, the outcomes of which will be closely studied elsewhere. The US is also forging its own path on whether AI-generated content can be protected by copyright, taking a position less permissive than many other jurisdictions, most notably China.   

DLA Piper's global team is well-placed to assist with your needs regarding AI, copyright, intellectual property and much more besides. If you have questions about anything raised in the articles, please get in touch with the authors or your regular DLA Piper contact.