In a recent IT Brew article examining the copyright implications of “vibe coding,” Adam Aft, Baker McKenzie’s Global Head of Technology Transactions, discussed how companies can navigate intellectual property and ownership questions as AI-assisted software development becomes increasingly common.
Adam explained that current copyright law requires a degree of human contribution and authorship for a work to receive copyright protection, making it important for organizations to document where human involvement occurs in AI-assisted development. He encouraged companies to think holistically about copyright authorship and how they protect AI-generated output as proprietary technology.
He also pointed to existing open-source software governance as a useful model for managing vibe coding. Organizations can build on established software development processes, including documentation, testing and sandbox practices, while tracking which portions of their codebase are vibe coded and which involve human authorship.
The article highlights the broader need for organizations to evaluate copyright, open-source and other IP risks as AI-generated code becomes more deeply integrated into software development.
Read the full article: How to navigate thorny copyright questions around vibe coding
Adam and Baker McKenzie Partner Justine Phillips also spoke on this topic with Bloomberg Law earlier this year.