{"id":70847,"date":"2025-06-30T19:28:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T19:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality"},"modified":"2025-06-30T19:55:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T19:55:19","slug":"ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality","title":{"rendered":"AI, IP and the Battle for Originality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>In the digital age where machines can now compose music, write poetry and generate art with astonishing ease, one pressing question looms large for Botswana: who owns the output of artificial intelligence (AI)?<\/b><\/p>\n

According to Letlhogonolo Moremi, an intellectual property lawyer, Development Policy Consultant and founder of ParkGrey IP, the answer is far from clear \u2013 and the consequences of this legal uncertainty may already be catching up with the country\u2019s creatives and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

Built for humans<\/p>\n

\u201cThe very foundation of copyright law is that it protects human intellectual labour,\u201d Moremi explained in an interview. \u201cAI is not a person, and therefore, the idea that it can hold rights to work it generates is fundamentally flawed.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some global thinkers argue that AI-generated works deserve protection, others push back, insisting that copyright law was never designed for non-human creators.<\/p>\n

Even if Botswana were to introduce legislation to recognise AI-generated content, another legal puzzle would arise: who would hold the rights \u2013 the user who inputs the prompts, the developer of the AI, or the AI itself?<\/p>\n

No law, no protection<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a key problem,\u201d said Moremi. \u201cIf the AI infringes on someone\u2019s copyright, who is legally responsible? Likewise, who has the right to sue others if their AI-generated content is stolen?\u201d<\/p>\n

At present, Botswana has no specific legal framework regulating AI-generated intellectual property. And yet, as AI tools become more accessible and widely used in creative industries, the gap in legislation is becoming a serious concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis technology is here,\u201d Moremi warns. \u201cAnd our creatives are not shielded from its global impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed the need for urgent legal reform through collaboration between lawmakers, AI developers, intellectual property experts, and the creative community. \u201cWithout swift action, Botswana risks falling behind in both legal protections and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originality before the law<\/p>\n

One of the biggest grey areas is the concept of originality \u2013 a cornerstone of copyright law. In situations where a human inputs a prompt and the AI generates the result, to what extent can that be considered original work?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn copyright law, there must be a demonstrable application of human intellect, even if minimal,\u201d Moremi explained. \u201cBut it cannot be so minimal as to be negligible.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the right tools and evidence, the courts may eventually be able to determine the human contribution, but for now, that line remains dangerously blurred.<\/p>\n

Legal landmines<\/p>\n

Botswana\u2019s content creators and tech startups are unknowingly walking into legal minefields. According to Moremi, the first major risk is copyright infringement by AI itself. \u201cAI models are trained on existing content, often scraped without consent,\u201d he said. \u201cThis means your AI-generated content could contain fragments of someone else\u2019s work, exposing you to lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second risk lies in user agreements with AI platforms. Many such contracts contain clauses that assign ownership of the content to the AI company, limiting the creative\u2019s rights to use, publish or profit from their own work.<\/p>\n

Undefined authorship<\/p>\n

Moremi is clear: without a legally defined author, there can be no enforceable rights. \u201cAll intellectual property laws are built on the principle that we can trace ownership back to a person or a group of people,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we can\u2019t do that, then the system collapses.\u201d<\/p>\n

This ambiguity opens the door to exploitation, grey markets, and a future where creatives in Botswana may have little to no control over the content they helped generate. If legal reform doesn\u2019t keep pace with technology, the country could see its creative economy undermined by copyright confusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould we fail to resolve this debate at the same speed at which the technology is evolving, it will create serious challenges for creators and innovators in defending their IP rights,\u201d Moremi said.<\/p>\n

Source: Botswana Gazette<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. In the digital age where machines can now compose music, write poetry and generate art with astonishing ease, one pressing question looms large for Botswana: who owns the output of artificial intelligence (AI)? According to Letlhogonolo Moremi, an intellectual property lawyer, Development Policy Consultant and founder of ParkGrey IP, the answer is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":70846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-70847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nAI, IP and the Battle for Originality - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the digital age where machines can now compose music, write poetry and generate art with astonishing ease, one pre ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AI, IP and the Battle for Originality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the digital age where machines can now compose music, write poetry and generate art with astonishing ease, one pre ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-30T19:28:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-30T19:55:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/06\/sm_1751300501.323805.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"AI, IP and the Battle for Originality\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-30T19:28:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-30T19:55:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality\"},\"wordCount\":643,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/06\/sm_1751300501.323805.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/ai-ip-and-the-battle-for-originality\",\"name\":\"AI, IP and the Battle for Originality - 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