Taiwan’s Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs has clarified the ownership of copyright when employees use generative AI to prepare work-related presentations. If generative AI is used merely as an assisting tool and the employee makes creative contributions that satisfy the requirements of “originality” and “creativity,” those human-created elements may qualify for protection under Taiwan’s Copyright Act. 

If a presentation is created within an employment relationship for the employer’s business or at the employer’s direction, it may constitute a “work completed in the course of employment.” In such cases, ownership of authorship and economic rights is determined first by any agreement between the employee and the employer. In the absence of a specific agreement, Article 11 of the Copyright Act provides that the employee is deemed the author and retains the moral rights, while the employer holds the economic rights. Whether a work was completed in the course of employment is determined substantively according to factors such as the nature of the employee’s duties and the work involved, rather than merely the time or place at which it was created. If the presentation does not constitute a work completed in the course of employment, the employee generally acquires copyright upon completion of the work. 

TIPO also noted that incorporating another person’s images into a presentation and uploading it online may constitute “reproduction” and “public transmission” of copyrighted works. Unless such use falls within the fair-use provisions of Articles 44 through 65 of the Copyright Act, authorization or consent from the holder of the economic rights must generally be obtained for the use to be lawful.