RECONCEPTUALIZING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN AI-GENERATED CONTENT WITH ETHICAL AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS FOR MALAYSIAN DESIGNERS

Artificial intelligence (AI) in the creation of audio, video, and visual (AVV) content is a risk to conventional ideas of authorship and ownership in intellectual property (IP) law. This report discusses the legal and ethical implications of AI work on Malaysian designers, highlighting gaps in current IP laws that are still human-centered and inadequate for regulating AI creativity. Taking a mixed-methods research approach (to include an analysis of legal documents, interviews with experts, and surveys of the stakeholders), the research has identified the presence of high uncertainty levels related to the right to authorship, consent to use data, and moral responsibility. To implement the policy change, considering the Utilitarian Theory of Intellectual Property, the AI Ethics, and the Compliance Theory, we propose the following conceptual framework that must lead to the reformulation of the policy with the introduction of the elements of bioethics and virtue ethics to create transparent and fair attribution systems. The findings underscore the need for a Malaysian IP system, and more specifically, for the Malaysian Intellectual Property Organization (MyIPO) to adopt AI-sensitive regulations and codes of conduct. It has been proposed to design systems of content authentication, universal ethical guidelines, and inter-agency collaborations, both to protect innovation and the rights of the creators. This paper provides a step-by-step roadmap for transforming IP governance in Malaysia, offering a way to achieve a balance between technological innovations, legal certainty, and cultural understanding in AI-based creative industries.