Theory and practice of intellectual property
№ 2 / 2026
ISSN (Print) 2308-0361
ISSN (Online) 2519-2744
PDF (Ukrainian)DOI: https://doi.org/10.33731/tpip.2026.2.3
Submitted 2026-04-06
Accepted 2026-04-21
Published 2026-05-28
Artificial intelligence in animation: issues of legal protection of generated objects
Oleksandr Tkach
PhD student,
Intellectual Property Scientific Research Institute
of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7586-1304
Abstract
The article outlines the issues surrounding the legal protection of objects generated by artificial intelligence that constitute elements of animated audiovisual works. It provides an analysis of different approaches (concepts) to determining the foundations of legal protection for such generated objects, based on a comparison among the anthropocentric standards of the EU and the USA, the utilitarian approach of China, and the specific provisions of the legislation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Particular attention is given to the analysis of Ukrainian legislation, which for the first time in the world introduces protection of non-original objects through a sui generis right. The study emphasizes the complexity of distinguishing between objects created through autonomous generation, works created by a human using artificial intelligence as a tool, and objects generated by artificial intelligence and subsequently refined by a human. The necessity of proving an individual creative contribution when enforcing intellectual property rights in the context of the cross-border dissemination of animated content is highlighted.
Keywords: copyright, audiovisual work, animation, sui generis, artificial intelligence, generated object
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