Yes. The legal status of AI tools is unsettled in Canada at this point in time. This is an evolving area and our understanding will develop as new policies, regulations, and case law becomes settled.

• Input: The legality of the content used to train AI models is unknown in some cases. There are a number of lawsuits originating from the US that allege genAI tools infringe copyright and it remains unclear if and how the fair use doctrine can be applied. Canada remains in a similar uncertain state; it is unclear the extent to which existing exceptions in the copyright framework, such as fair dealing, apply to this activity.
• Output: Authorship and ownership of works created by AI is unclear. Traditionally, Canadian law has indicated that an author must be a natural person (human) who exercises skill and judgement in the creation of a work. As there are likely to be varying degrees of human input in content generated, it is unclear in Canada how it will be determined who the appropriate author and owner of works are. More recently, the US Copyright Office published the following guide addressing these issues: Copyright Registration Guidance for Works Containing AI-Generated Materials

If you would like to use genAI tools for content generation, consider the following before doing so:

• Have an understanding that while you can use these tools to create content, you may not own or hold copyright in the works generated
• Be mindful of what you input into tools: never input confidential information or significant portions of intellectual property you do not have the rights or permissions to. All content entered may become part of the tool’s dataset and may inadvertently resurface in response to other prompts
• Review the terms of service of each tool: These terms will dictate use and ownership of input/output and they are subject to change without notice
• Be explicit in how you have used these tools in the creation of your work. Keep a record of prompts and any IP you have used in the creation of output. Review attribution guidelines according to the style guide you are using (refer to the Citing Sources guides). If you are publishing your work, review any requirements or policies that address the use of generative AI tools in your research. These policies will indicate whether AI can be used and how the use of these tools should be disclosed.

This FAQ was adapted from "Generative AI Tools and Copyright Considerations" by the University of Toronto Libraries, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.