Aproximation to the legal framework of artificial intelligence in México and its impact on intellectual property rights and copyright

Abstract

Within the field of intellectual property, the rights of creators and authors are recognized, as they produce works from which various forms of legal protection arise, such as copyright and, where applicable, patents. However, the traditional legal framework does not expressly contemplate artificial intelligence as a potential agent in creative processes, despite the fact that these technologies are currently capable of generating content—textual, visual, or auditory—through the processing and recombination of pre-existing data, such as images, words, or stylistic elements. This scenario raises a central issue: determining who should be considered the author of a work generated through artificial intelligence, which in turn requires examining whether the ownership of rights should be attributed to the technology itself, the user, or the developers behind the system.
In this regard, the objective of this work is to analyze, from a legal-doctrinal perspective, whether works generated by artificial intelligence can be considered creations in the strict sense and, consequently, to determine who holds the intellectual property rights over such works, in light of the traditional principles of authorship, originality, and creativity. To this end, the research adopts a qualitative, documentary, and analytical approach, consisting of a review of the applicable legal framework on intellectual property, as well as contemporary scholarly discussions on artificial intelligence and automated creation, complemented by a critical analysis that contrasts traditional legal categories with current technological challenges.As a general conclusion, it is argued that artificial intelligence cannot be regarded as an author in the legal sense, as it lacks legal personality, intentionality, and creative consciousness—essential elements in the classical conception of authorship. Consequently, the ownership of rights should be attributed to the human individuals who play a relevant role in the creative process, particularly in the design, programming, or use of such technologies. Nevertheless, this phenomenon highlights the need to rethink and update traditional intellectual property categories in order to adequately address the challenges posed by technology-assisted creation, without undermining their human-centered foundation.