UK Copyright for Computer-Generated Works (Section 9(3))

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) contains a special rule for certain computer-generated works. Section 9(3) says that, for a literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work that is computer-generated, the author is taken to be the person who undertook the arrangements necessary for its creation. Section 178 defines “computer-generated” as generated by computer in circumstances where there is no human author. A central uncertainty is how section 9(3) interacts with the requirement that a copyright work be original. UK case law describes originality in terms of an author’s own intellectual creation and creative choices. This test is associated with human authorship, while section 9(3) addresses works without a human author. The March 2026 government report says that, without case law, it is unclear how an “original” wholly machine-authored work would be defined. The report distinguishes wholly computer-generated output from AI-assisted work in which a person makes creative contributions. Human-created work may still qualify as an authorial work if the contribution meets the originality test. Separate entrepreneurial rights may protect films, broadcasts, and sound recordings. On computer-generated works, the March 2026 report proposes continued monitoring but removal of section 9(3)’s specific protection absent evidence of ongoing value. This is a policy proposal, not current law: section 9(3) remains in force unless Parliament changes it. Whether it applies to a particular output depends on facts, authorship, and other copyright rules. Check the current Act and official updates, and seek legal advice for a concrete rights or licensing decision.