If your business creates content – whether for your own brand or for clients, AI tools have likely become part of your workflow. From generating copy and visuals to automating research and personalisation, AI is transforming how content is created; with this transformation comes risk. Without a clear, legally robust AI policy, your business could be exposed to copyright disputes, data breaches, regulatory violations and reputational damage.
Protecting Intellectual Property
AI-generated content raises complex legal questions around ownership, which are currently being debated in case law and across government. If it is important for you or your clients to be able to use the content you create without legal recourse, then it may be time for you to take proactive action to put an AI policy or other appropriate arrangement in place for your business. What happens if the content inadvertently replicates another’s work? What if the information provided is incorrect? These issues can lead to disputes, reputational damage or lost business.
Staying compliant
Many AI tools process personal data or scrape online content, which can trigger obligations under the UK GDPR or other intellectual property laws. Without clear internal guidance and impact assessments, your team could unknowingly breach data protection laws or violate copyright law. My colleague Leanne Yendell has written an article on the privacy considerations around AI adoption: AI Adoption | Privacy Perspective | Stephens Scown
Maintaining control and mitigating risk
Without clear usage policies, your workforce may input confidential data – giving rise to inadvertent data disclosure. An AI policy can put parameters in place on what information can be shared with AI tools – ensuring your team protects both your business and your clients from unintended exposure.
Safeguarding your brand
AI can generate content that is off-brand, inaccurate, unethical or bias. It is important to be alive to such risks to ensure such use can be carefully managed to avoid the same. A policy can set out expectations for human review, quality control and accountability. In addition, AI tools require a significant amount of data in order to function and in light of recent cases like Getty Images v Stability AI, it is not inconceivable to deduce that AI tools use a variety of different sources – some with and without permission. This therefore stresses the importance of taking proactive steps to protect your own brand by way of trade mark registration in the event an infringement occurs (i.e. an AI tool is used to create a brand that uses your own logos or brand name). If you have a registered trade mark enforceability is much more straightforward as opposed to attempting to rely on an unregistered logo or brand name.
Preparing for AI regulation
AI regulation is evolving rapidly across the globe – the EU’s AI Act is already in force and the UK Government undertook an AI consultation earlier this year, with legislation likely on its way (the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Private Members’ Bill was reintroduced to the House of Lords in March 2025 after failing to become law under the previous government.
An AI policy can ensure that AI-generated content complies with laws on data protection, intellectual property and other regulatory considerations. It helps prevent misuse of confidential and sensitive information and setting out clear boundaries for quality control, accountability and ethical use – so that your team can use AI tools confidently and consistently.
Contact our Intellectual Property, Data Protection and Technology team to discuss AI policy.