Artificial Intelligence as (Non-)Author: Legal and Ethical Aspects of Generative Artificial Intelligence | Comenius : Bratislava legal forum Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Comenius : Bratislava legal forum About About the Journal Scientific comitee of the conference Editorial team Privacy Statement Contact Policies and istructions Publication ethics Use of generative AI Review policy Licence agreement Open access policy Privacy Archiving policy Submissions Current Archives Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 1 (2025): Comenius : Bratislava legal forum 2025 / Commercial law and economic law Artificial Intelligence as (Non-)Author: Legal and Ethical Aspects of Generative Artificial Intelligence Authors Martin Daňko Laura Fotopulosová DOI: https://doi.org/10.46282/bpf.2025.22 Keywords: artificial intelligence, copyright law, author, work of authorship, originality Abstract The dynamic development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems fundamentally challenges the traditional understanding of originality and authorship in the context of copyright law. This article focuses on analysing the legal nature of outputs created by generative AI from the perspective of the applicable legal framework, which strictly presupposes and requires the existence of a human author and ties the emergence of authorship to a person’s creative intellectual contribution. However, since AI is not a legal subject and is incapable of autonomous creative activity in the legal sense, the question arises of how to classify outputs in copyright terms when the human contribution is minimal or entirely absent. The article therefore highlights differing concepts of (non-)authorship in the case of programmers of AI, users of AI, or the AI itself, as well as comparative approaches adopted in selected legal systems. The analysis also includes the ethical and societal implications of the mass use of AI in creative processes, particularly the impact of generative AI on the position of traditional authors. Finally, proposals de lege ferenda are presented, reflecting the need to adapt copyright law to new technological challenges while maintaining a balance between promoting creativity and protecting authors’ rights. References 1. ADAMOVÁ, Zuzana - HAZUCHA, Branislav: Autorský zákon. 1. vydanie. Bratislava: C. H. Beck, 2018, ISBN: 978-80-89603-58-9. 2. AVLONITOU, Charis - PAPADAKI, Eirini: AI: An Active and Innovative Tool for Artistic Creation. In: Arts 2025, 14(3), 52. 3. FITAS, Ricardo: The Author Is Sovereign: A Manifesto for Ethical Copyright in the Age of AI. In: arXiv preprint [online]. 2025. Dostupné z: https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.02239 . 4. FRITZ, Johannes.: Understanding authorship in Artificial Intelligence-assisted works. In: Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Oxford Academic, 2025. 5. GAIDARTZI, Anthi – STAMATOUDI, Irini: Authorship and Ownership Issues Raised by AI-Generated Works: A Comparative Analysis. In: Laws [online] 2025, 14(4), 57. 6. JURCYS, Paulius – FENWICK, Mark: Originality and the Future of Copyright in an Age of Generative AI. In: arXiv preprint [online]. 2023. Dostupné z: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.13055 . 7. KRAUSOVÁ, Alžběta – MORAVEC, Václav: Disappearing Authorship: Ethical Protection of AI-Generated News from the Perspective of Copyright and Other Laws. In: JIPITEC [online]. 2022, 13(2), s. 132 - 144. 8. LU, Yiheng: Reforming Copyright Law for AI-Generated Content: Copyright Protection, Authorship and Ownership. In: Technology and Regulation [online]. 2025, s. 81-95. 9. LU, Yuchen: AI-Generated Content and Its Legal Status Under Copyright Law. In: Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 35, s. 218-225. 10. MARTINS, Rafael Dias: Authorship without an Author: Legal Aspects of Works Created by AI. In: Works on Intellectual Property [online]. 2024, 51(4), s. 143-152. 11. PINTÉROVÁ, Dominika: Právna regulácia umelej inteligencie (perspektívy a výzvy). In: Právny obzor, 107, 2024, č. 4, s. 361 – 383. 12. WATSON, Steven - BREZOVEC, Erik - ROMIC, Jonathan: The role of generative AI in academic and scientific authorship: an autopoietic perspective. In: AI & Society, Springer, 2025. 13. ZIGO, Jana: General - Purpose AI in the context of the EU AI ACT. In: Míľniky práva v stredoeurópskom priestore 2024 / Veronika Ťažká (zost.). Bratislava : Právnická fakulta Univerzity Komenského v Bratislave, 2024, str. 168-175. ISBN 978-80- 7160-723-6. Downloads pdf (Slovak) Published 2025-12-31 Issue Vol. 1 (2025): Comenius : Bratislava legal forum 2025 Section Commercial law and economic law License Copyright (c) 2025 Martin Daňko, Laura Fotopulosová This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . Information For Readers For Authors For Librarians Comenius : Bratislava legal forum Comenius University Bratislava, Faculty of Law ISSN 2989-512X doi 10.4682/bpf.2025