AI and IP Law: Copyright, Ownership, and Licensing
ONLINE COURSE
Gain the practical frameworks to evaluate ownership, recognise infringement and licensing risks, and confidently advise your organisation on ever-changing AI-related copyright questions.
3 weeks, excluding 1 week orientation.
6–7 hours of cohort-based learning per week, entirely online.
Email: lseonline@getsmarter.com
Call: +44 1223 790 603
ABOUT THIS COURSE
The AI and IP Law: Copyright, Ownership, and Licensing online course from the London School of Economics and Political Science examines how AI challenges core copyright principles, including authorship, ownership, infringement, and liability. The course is grounded in active litigation, not settled legislation, and high-profile cases determining the answers to critical AI copyright questions. Developed by expert LSE Law School faculty who are actively shaping how the field is taught, the course equips participants with the comparative legal reasoning and cross-jurisdictional perspective needed to protect their organisation from undue exposure across the UK, EU, and US.
WHAT THIS COURSE COVERS
This three-week online course covers the core copyright principles most affected by generative AI, including originality, fixation, authorship, and ownership. You’ll examine how different jurisdictions approach authorship and ownership of AI-generated works, assess the level of human creative contribution required to support a copyright claim, and distinguish copyright issues from related patent law questions. You’ll also learn how to evaluate infringement risks linked to AI training, models, and outputs, identify potential defences, and understand how copyright and licensing frameworks are evolving in response to generative AI.
A POWERFUL COLLABORATION
LSE is collaborating with online education provider GetSmarter to create an immersive learning experience – one that balances the flexibility of online learning with the intimacy of cohort-based learning and live sessions with LSE Faculty.
ABOUT LSE
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a leading dedicated social science university. LSE was founded in 1895 with the aim of understanding the causes of things for the “betterment of society”. LSE seeks to make research and teaching practical and relevant to the real world. The School counts 20 Nobel Prize winners and 40 world leaders amongst its alumni and staff. LSE has students from over 160 countries, and over 100 languages are spoken on campus.
ABOUT LSE ONLINE CERTIFICATES
LSE is dedicated to addressing global issues through research and education, and is the most international of all British universities. By offering online certificate courses designed by expert LSE faculty members, the School aims to make its state-of-the-art social sciences research and insights available to a wider global audience. The supported, interactive online learning model allows participants to study from anywhere in the world, at times of their convenience, while still interacting with peers and teaching staff alike.
ABOUT GETSMARTER
GetSmarter partners with the world’s leading universities and institutions to select, design and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.
Technology meets academic rigour in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.
As a participant, you will also gain unlimited access to edX’s Career Engagement Network at no extra cost. This platform will provide you with valuable career resources and events to support your professional journey. You can look forward to benefits including rich content, career templates, webinars, workshops, career fairs, networking events, panel discussions, and exclusive recruitment opportunities to connect you with potential employers.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
You’ll be welcomed to the course and begin connecting with fellow participants, while exploring the navigation and tools of your Online Campus. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.
You’ll be required to complete your participant profile, confirm your email address for the delivery of your digital certificate, and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.
Please note that module titles and their contents are subject to change during course development.
Build a foundation in core copyright principles and examine how generative AI challenges established concepts of originality, authorship, fixation, and protectable creative expression.
- Describe the key principles that underpin copyright and ownership
- Distinguish protected creative expression from ideas and material in the public domain
- Compare how originality and authorship are interpreted across different jurisdictions
- Examine how generative AI is challenging established, human-centred concepts of originality and authorship
Examine who may claim authorship and ownership of AI-generated outputs, and assess where prompting ends and meaningful human creative contribution begins.
- Examine how authorship and ownership principles apply to AI-generated content
- Explore how different levels of human creative input can affect authorship and joint authorship claims
- Assess whether an AI-generated work can support a valid claim of human authorship
- Compare how different legal frameworks approach ownership and authorship of AI-generated outputs
- Differentiate copyright considerations from patent law issues in relation to AI-generated works
Apply copyright infringement tests to AI training, models, and outputs, while examining available defences and the evolving landscape of licensing, regulation, and liability.
- Apply key legal principles to assess potential copyright infringement
- Identify relevant defences to copyright infringement claims
- Examine how infringement risks arise across AI training, models, and generated outputs
- Analyse how copyright and licensing frameworks are evolving in response to AI
- Evaluate real-world AI scenarios for potential copyright and infringement risk
WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE
This course is designed for both legal and non-legal professionals working with the legal, commercial, and operational implications of generative AI. For legal professionals, it is particularly relevant for lawyers, solicitors, barristers, in-house counsel, intellectual property and commercial legal advisers, rights managers, and licensing directors. For non-legal professionals, it is relevant to technology and digital professionals managing AI-enabled products and services, risk and insurance professionals assessing AI-related exposure, and marketing, advertising, and brand professionals using generative AI to create commercial assets.
THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF YOU WANT TO:
ADVISE WITH CONFIDENCE
Navigate AI copyright questions before courts have provided definitive answers.
ASSESS TRAINING AND OWNERSHIP RISK
Understand whether content can legally be used for AI training, who may own AI-generated outputs, and how much human contribution matters.
NAVIGATE COMPLEX LEGAL RISK
Identify infringement and licensing issues across the UK, EU, US, and Japan, and know when an issue should be escalated.
YOUR SKILLS RECOGNISED
Validate your skills online with an official digital certificate of completion as well as a digital badge from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Your digital badge will be issued to you through Accredible upon completion of the course. You’ll be able to share your certificate and your badge on LinkedIn and other networking sites.
Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. It culminates in a final capstone project. In order to be issued your digital certificate, you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. You can chat to an enrolment specialist to learn more about the course requirements before you enrol, or view the course handbook once you start. You can also view general assessment information here.
Your digital certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you upon successful completion of the course, as per the stipulated requirements.
WHO YOU’LL LEARN FROM
This subject matter expert from LSE guides the course design and appears in a number of course videos, along with a variety of industry professionals.
YOUR COURSE CONVENOR
Dr Luke McDonagh
Associate Professor of Law, Law School, LSE
Dr Luke McDonagh joined LSE Law School in 2020. He undertakes research in the areas of Intellectual Property Law and Constitutional Law. Prior to taking up his position at LSE he was a Senior Lecturer at City, University of London (2015–2020), a Lecturer at Cardiff University (2013–2015) and LSE Fellow (2011–13). Luke holds a PhD from Queen Mary, University of London (2011), an LL.M from the London School of Economics (LSE) (2006–7) and a B.C.L. degree from NUI, Galway (2002–05). He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
HOW YOU’LL LEARN
Every course is broken down into manageable, weekly modules designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse activities:
- Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
- Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, live polls, and more
- Learn alongside a cohort of professionals and collaborate in a live class session
- Investigate rich, real-world case studies
- Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and ongoing project submissions, culminating in a final graded assignment based on realistic AI copyright disputes, including a practical scenario drawn from your own professional or jurisdictional context, with feedback from a subject matter expert
YOUR SUCCESS TEAM
GetSmarter, with whom LSE is collaborating to deliver this online course, provides a personalised approach to online education that ensures you’re supported throughout your learning journey.
HEAD TUTOR
A subject expert who’ll guide you through content-related challenges.
SUCCESS ADVISOR
Your one-on-one support is available during University hours (8am–5pm GMT) to resolve technical and administrative challenges.
GLOBAL SUCCESS TEAM
Available 24/7 to solve your tech-related and administrative queries and concerns.
The AI and IP Law: Copyright, Ownership, and Licensing online course is delivered by LSE Law School, ranked 9th in the world for Law in the QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2026.
QS World University Rankings (Accessed August 2026).
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
In order to complete this course, you’ll need a PDF Reader. You may also need to view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, as well as read and create documents in Microsoft Word or Excel.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Some courses may require certain software and resources, which will be communicated to you upon registration and/or at the start of the course. Please note that Google, Vimeo, and YouTube may be used in our course delivery.
