A Robust Copyright Protection for the Artificial Intelligence Generated Audio Visual Content: Special Reference to Sri Lankan Copyright Law

This research discusses the ever-evolving issue of copyright protection of audiovisual content generated by Generative Artificial Intelligence with particular focus on the legal system of Sri Lanka. The existing copyright legislation, particularly the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 of Sri Lanka, lacks clear provisions on AI-generated audiovisual content primarily because of the lack of an established judicial paradigm on authorship and ownership in the context of non-human creativity. The research problem here how Sri Lankan copyright law addresses authorship and ownership of AI-generated audiovisual contents. The objective of this study is to analyze and clarify the authorship and ownership rights of AI-generated audiovisual contents under Sri Lankan copyright law. Qualitative research method was used for this in-depth interviews and Sri Lankan Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 were used as primary data sources. In-depth interviews were conducted with scholars in several fields such as law, art, technology and books, research articles, and the internet were used for the compilation of secondary data related to these subjects. Data were thematically coded under five broad categories of protective works, authorship, ownership, exclusive rights, and moral rights. This study finds that AI-generated audiovisual contents introduce heightened authorship challenges. The fact that the author of the AI generated work has not yet been clearly defined under copyright law of Sri Lanka has become the main problem in providing protection.  Although AI systems carry out the technical process, the involvement of the user in initiating and influencing output through prompts demonstrates creative intent. Therefore, authorship has to be attributed to the user. Assigning rights to the AI machine contravenes the purpose of public availability and stifles innovation. Despite the fact that creators hold patent rights, copyright has to be attributed to the user. Ethically, AI tools need to be acknowledged for its contribution to the creative process. In summary, a serious legal framework is imperative to face the special character of audiovisual content generated by AI. It must provide clear definitions of authorship, support hybrid creativity, and guarantee ethical use, keeping local law aligned with international standards in order to facilitate innovation and defend rights in the digital creative era.