Marketing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools have rapidly become central to the worlds of marketing, design, and content creation. They enable faster production, innovative ideas, and significant creative flexibility. Yet alongside these capabilities comes a complex set of legal considerations—particularly regarding copyright, trademarks, and ethical use. Understanding these rules is essential for marketers, designers, content creators, and legal professionals alike.

This article summarizes key insights from a recent professional webinar on Marketing Creativity and Legal Responsibility, offering a clear overview of the main risks and legal issues associated with AI-generated content.

A foundational principle in copyright law is that copyrights can only be granted to a human creator. No matter how advanced the technology becomes, AI tools themselves cannot be recognized as authors. This has several implications:

• The copyright belongs to the human who operates the tool.

• Only when there is significant human creative input can the resulting work qualify for copyright protection.

• Works produced largely or entirely through automated AI output — with minimal human contribution — may not be protected at all.

This principle is reflected in a recent decision by the U.S. Copyright Office, which refused to register an AI-generated artwork on the grounds that it lacked meaningful human authorship.

Most AI models are trained on vast datasets scraped from the internet, which include copyrighted materials. As a result, AI-generated outputs might:

• Closely resemble existing works, sometimes unintentionally.

• Inherit protected elements such as characters, artistic styles, visual compositions, or narrative structures.

For example, enhancing a frame from a film using AI does not eliminate copyright risk. The image may still be protected by the rights of the filmmakers, character owners, and even the actors themselves.

Using AI to generate images or designs that include recognizable commercial elements poses significant legal risk:

• Creating images featuring Disney characters or incorporating company icons such as Google, Apple, or Facebook may constitute trademark infringement.

• Even when AI offers to generate a "similar" character instead of the original, the result can still be too close to the protected work.

This is especially important in marketing contexts, where external distribution magnifies the exposure and legal liability.

Every AI platform has its own licensing terms:

• Some require payment for commercial use.

• Most do not guarantee exclusivity of the generated output, meaning similar or identical results may appear elsewhere.

• Misunderstanding terms of use can lead to violations and potential legal claims.

In professional marketing work, this requires careful review of any AI-generated text, visuals, or graphics before publication.

Creating Work “Inspired By” or “In the Style Of” – When Is It Allowed?

Even when the original creator is no longer protected (for example, Vincent van Gogh), producing work “in the style of” can still raise issues if:

• The style is replicated too closely.

• The output mirrors the composition, character, or recognizable features of a copyrighted work.

Similarly, asking AI to create a post “similar” to another person’s content requires substantial differences, not just superficial rewriting.

AI-Generated Presentations and Visuals: Internal vs. External Use

AI-generated graphics are generally safer for internal use, but for external or public-facing materials:

• All visuals must be screened for protected elements.

• Even a simple image—such as a person using a laptop featuring an Apple logo—may constitute trademark infringement.

Therefore, AI-assisted presentation design in a marketing context must be approached with extra caution.