The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has proposed guidelines that would allow the registration of works created with artificial intelligence, but only to the extent that they contain original expression attributable to a human author.
The proposed Guidelines on the Registrability of AI Systems and AI-Related Works were presented during an initial public consultation conducted by IPOPHL’s Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights (BCRR).
Under the draft, the use of an AI system would not automatically disqualify a work from copyright registration. However, protection would extend only to portions reflecting a person’s original creative contribution.
The guidelines define human creative contribution as an original expressive contribution by a natural person that meets the minimum level of creativity required for copyright protection. Originality would be assessed based on independent creation, intellectual creativity and judgment rather than a fixed threshold.
IPOPHL identified four categories of AI-related works: AI-assisted, AI-enhanced, hybrid and AI-generated output.
In an AI-assisted work, a person uses AI as a tool but remains responsible for the original expression in the finished product. A writer, for example, may use AI to suggest alternative wording or organize a manuscript, but copyright protection would cover only the writer’s selection, rewriting and arrangement.
An AI-enhanced work begins as a human-created work that is later modified using AI. This could include a photograph processed through AI to remove objects, restore damaged sections or improve its appearance. Protection may cover the original photograph and any human-created modifications that meet the originality requirement.
A hybrid work combines human-authored and AI-generated elements. IPOPHL cited the example of a songwriter who writes lyrics while using AI to generate the melody. The work may be registered if the human contribution qualifies for protection, but registration would not extend copyright to unprotectable AI-generated elements.
By contrast, output produced from a general prompt without sufficient human creative input would not qualify for copyright registration to the extent that it lacks original human expression. Merely prompting an AI image generator and registering the resulting image would not give the user copyright over the output.
IPOPHL said it may consider the extent of the applicant’s creative contribution, the AI system’s role and how AI-generated material was selected, altered, arranged or incorporated into the finished work.
The agency would assess these factors collectively and on a case-by-case basis. It may also require applicants to submit additional information when necessary.
For AI systems, registration would cover only copyrightable expression contained in the computer program submitted to IPOPHL. It would not cover training data, materials used for training, AI-generated outputs or material that does not form part of the protected program.
The draft also makes clear that registration would not resolve whether the use of copyrighted material for AI training constitutes fair use or is otherwise lawful.
IPOPHL director general Teodoro Pascua said “the proposed guidelines do not regulate AI generally or make a definitive determination on the copyrightability of AI-related works, but aim to provide greater clarity on their treatment for registration with IPOPHL.”
Deputy director general Ann Claire Credo-Cabochan said “IPOPHL seeks to ensure that the legal framework remains responsive to evolving technologies and market realities while remaining faithful to the principles of existing laws, such as the IP Code.”
The agency is consulting government bodies, lawyers, academics, creators, technology companies and the public before finalizing the guidelines.
“We want a framework that provides clarity without getting ahead of the technology. We want to give stakeholders a practical basis for navigating AI-assisted works while allowing us to refine the approach as dialogues deepen and experience accumulates,” BCRR director Emerson Cuyo said.
