The Iowa Bar Association released on May 1 an article by Brett Trout examining the challenges and opportunities that generative artificial intelligence presents for intellectual property law. The article addresses how lawyers are increasingly using AI to generate documents, images, videos, software code, and other materials, raising new questions about ownership and liability.
The issue is significant as generative AI becomes a central business tool across many industries. Legal practitioners must understand how traditional intellectual property doctrines—designed for human creativity—are being tested by machine-generated content. According to Trout’s analysis, “mastering the intersection of IP and generative AI is quickly becoming essential” for those advising businesses, creators, or innovators.
Trout writes that U.S. copyright law currently requires human authorship for protection. Works generated entirely by AI without meaningful human input generally do not qualify for copyright protection. Even so, editing or curating an AI output may be enough to establish rights over the human contribution. The article also highlights ongoing debates over whether training large language models on copyrighted material constitutes infringement—a matter still unresolved in courts.
Other areas discussed include trade secrets and patents: voluntarily sharing confidential information with public AI platforms can defeat trade secret protection; meanwhile, patent law maintains that only humans can be inventors even if inventions are developed with substantial help from AI systems. Trademark risks persist when using words or logos created by generative tools because outputs may resemble existing marks or raise issues related to likenesses of individuals in advertising contexts.
Trout urges lawyers to adopt strong internal policies regarding use of generative tools and advises clients to maintain clear records distinguishing between human and machine contributions when developing new works or inventions with assistance from AI technology.
The Iowa Bar Association serves more than 6,500 lawyers and judges licensed in Iowa according to its official website. It supports members through resources aimed at professional growth while promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession according to its official website. The association is governed by a board of 47 elected members from Iowa’s judicial districts according to its official website and utilizes its headquarters in Des Moines for administrative operations as well as member events according to its official website.
As stated on the association’s site, it honors excellence through awards recognizing contributions both within the legal profession and broader public service according to its official website. Founded as the oldest voluntary state bar association in the United States serving more than 6,500 legal professionals statewide—and advancing justice through legislative support—the organization continues adapting alongside developments like artificial intelligence according to its official website.