Who Owns the Output? AI Copyright & IP Explained w/ Chris Paniewski | Startup Legal Basics

This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis

Technology

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s show:

Jason sits down with Wilson Sonsini partner Chris Paniewski for part two of our Startup Legal Basics series on AI law — this time tackling the question every founder is asking: who owns the output of AI systems?

Chris has advised on some of the biggest AI deals in history, and in this episode he helps break down how intellectual property law is colliding with generative AI.

Jason and Chris cover:

What kinds of IP rights might apply to AI-generated output (copyrights, patents, trade secrets)
Why human authorship is central to copyright law
Whether prompts are protectable IP
How GenAI platforms’ terms of service affect ownership
Real-world examples from Star Wars to Wirecutter to Warhol
What startups should document when using AI in development
How investors diligence AI companies on IP strategy

If you’re a founder, investor, or operator trying to understand how to responsibly use AI without losing your IP, this conversation is essential.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Jason introduces part two of Startup Legal Basics with Chris Paniewski

(1:20) Star Wars example: using LLMs to generate existing IP

(3:10) Human authorship requirement in copyright law

(5:25) Prompts, super-prompts, and the role of creative control

(7:45) Photography analogy & the “monkey selfie” case

(10:00) Patents, inventorship, and AI-generated inventions

(12:05) Startups balancing speed to market vs. protectable IP

(14:15) How to layer human creativity on top of AI output

(16:20) Fair use, derivative works, and investor diligence

Check Out Wilson Sonsini: https://www.wsgr.com

Check out all of the Startup Basics episodes here: https://thisweekinstartups.com/basics

Follow Chris:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-paniewski-09331a59/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	All right, everybody, welcome back to Startup Basics.
0:06.7	Why did I do this series?
0:07.8	They get asked the same questions over and over again.
0:10.1	And I like to help founders navigate complex issues, even the simple ones.
0:14.6	Today, we're going to talk about a complex and a moving target with Chris Pynevsky, partner
0:19.2	at Wilson Sonsini.
0:20.6	You know, we talked, Chris, in my first discussion with you about input. a moving target with Chris Pyniewski, partner at Wilson Sincini.
0:25.8	You know, we talked, Chris, in my first discussion with you about input and training data.
0:29.3	Great. If you guys want to see that, go to this week in startups.com slash basic.
0:30.8	Part two, output.
0:35.2	You know, and I brought up the very evocative issue of Star Wars content.
0:38.7	One thing you might want to do using a large language model out there is say, hey, make me into a Jedi Knight. Now, is that legal or not? It turns out
0:46.7	a lot of the LLMs have said, when you try to take IP from the Disney Corporation, which is one of
0:53.3	the preeminent rights holders in the world, who is is one of the preeminent rights holders in the world,
0:56.0	who is also one of the preeminent defenders of their rights. Some of the LLMs now, Chris,
1:01.3	I don't know if you noticed, will not let you do that. Right. They are protecting themselves,
1:05.4	right? They don't want to show that they can generate infringing content, and they are looking to be able to frankly
1:12.9	boster their own fair use argument, which we talked about in the prior podcast. And if they put
1:18.5	these kinds of guardrails in place, those are some of the best practices to try to protect the
1:23.2	LLMs from lawsuits from third parties that they're not doing enough to protect copyrighted content.
1:29.7	And a key part of fair use and a key part of copyright law is, hey, if I made Star Wars, I'm
1:34.7	George Lucas, 1977, and we're sitting here now, you know, 50 years later, you know, trying to mitigate
	...

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