AI-Generated Code Has No Author, No Copyright: What Founders Must Know
Who owns the code? AI code == no author == no copyright
Under current U.S. copyright law, purely AI-generated code lacks a human author, making it ineligible for copyright protection and leaving it undefendable as an asset. This guide for founders, engineering leaders, and counsel outlines four key risks: AI-only output is unprotected, vibe coding exposes you, mixed codebases protect only human-authored parts, and open-source licenses on AI output are unenforceable. Recent rulings, including Thaler v. Perlmutter and the U.S. Copyright Office report, reinforce the rule: no human author, no protection.
Under current U.S. copyright law, purely AI-generated code has no human author, so it cannot be copyrighted and cannot be defended as an asset you truly own.