The use of Artificial Intelligence in the Fashion Industry has gained momentum over the past few years. Though it provides a myriad of opportunities and innovative services like ability to try-on clothes and make-up and give styling solution digitally, it also presents potential copyright challenges. Brands like Zara seek to implement interactive fitting rooms for a personalized styling solution for their customers, while other brands use technology and data analysis to understand and respond to customer’s preferences. With constantly changing trends, AI is being used to analyse existing consumer data, sale pattern, profitable element of the apparels to predict the upcoming trends. It is being used to create and generate fabric designs, silhouettes, and sketches. However, in the light of the current IP legislation and growth of AI technology, who owns the copyright in the AI-created designs is a point of debate.
When designs are created using an AI, but the inputs and instructions are given by human, ownership of the designs can be attributed to the human. However, with developments in technology, AI- machines are now capable of creating designs without human input or interference. In such a case, where a design is created without human interference, the ownership can be attributed to the person who has the copyright in the AI software used to generate the designs or to the AI itself. Currently the Indian Copyright law does not give exhaustive rights to the AI-generated designs and gives no clear answer to who owns the designs created using AI.
Further, Section 13 of the Copyright Act clearly defines the copyright subsists only in original work. Thus, for a copyright to subsists in an AI-generated work, the designs must be original and satisfy all the test of originality but whether an AI creates original designs is still questionable. In India, the law has time and again focused on the requirement of human inputs and intellect for copyright protection. AI created designs could be protected under the copyright law as compilations. But to claim copyright in compilations, the designs must be produced with exercise of skill and labour and not be a mere product of labour and capital.[1] Copyright law only protects fruits of intellectual labour, skill and judgement and not work created using a machine. Given that the law only protects works with some human contribution and skills, question arises what happens to designs created using AI when human input is limited to pushing a button or speaking?
No doubt AI in the fashion industry is a lucrative and attractive venture but it poses several legal challenges. Investors and designers are unable to gauge the value of the designs created by the AI due to the ambiguity of law, whether the designs will be protected or who will own the designs. Particular attention must be given to the ownership of the designs and that companies and designers using AI, should explicitly address the question of ownership beforehand, to protect them against the legal challenges.
[1] Eastern Book Company & Ors v. D.B.Modak & Anr. ((2008) 1 SCC1)