Generative AI has quickly integrated into commercial workflows—producing marketing copy, visual branding, audio, and code. For creative enterprises, corporate marketing teams, and developers, this introduces immediate intellectual property questions: Does copyright subsist in AI-generated output, and who holds the rights? Here is a breakdown of the legal landscape in Zambia:
- THE CURRENT STATUTORY POSITION (CAP 406)
Under the Copyright and Performance Rights Act, Chapter 406. Copyright vests in original works where the author is an individual who personally created the work (Section 10). Section 24 excludes computer-generated works from moral rights protection, acknowledging automated creation, but the Act does not provide a definitive ownership framework for outputs generated without direct human creative labor.
- PROMPTING VS. AUTHORSHIP
Providing a prompt is an instruction, not personal creative expression. Under existing principles, pure AI outputs lack human authorship. However, where an individual uses AI as an assistive tool and contributes substantial, demonstrable human originality—such as post-generation editing, structural arrangement, and creative modification—copyright may subsist in those human elements.
- LEGISLATIVE REFORM: THE COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS BILL, 2025
The proposed Bill introduces a crucial modernisation: it defines the author of computer-generated work as the person who undertakes the arrangements necessary for its creation. While this provides a statutory bridge to recognize human/corporate ownership, the Bill is not yet operative law, and defining what qualifies as “necessary arrangements” will require judicial interpretation.
- THE TRAINING DATA DILEMMA
Under Section 17, rights holders retain exclusive control over reproduction and adaptation. Because Zambian law does not currently provide a statutory data-mining exception for training AI models, using copyrighted local works without licensing creates legal exposure for AI developers.
- THE DAC VIEW
Commercial permissions in a software provider’s Terms of Service do not equal enforceable copyright ownership under domestic law. Businesses leveraging generative AI should establish internal governance policies, document human creative input, and verify chain of title for brand assets.
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DAC Legal Insights is published by Dzekedzeke & Co. Legal Practitioners for general information and public legal education. It does not constitute formal legal advice.
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