ASEAN urged to update IP laws to shield creatives from generative AI

THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to update its intellectual property (IP) frameworks to protect the creative industry from generative artificial intelligence (AI), Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines said. Speaking at a briefing, PwC Philippines Managing Partner for Deals and Corporate Finance Mary Jade T. Roxas-Divinagracia said current regional and national IP frameworks have yet to explicitly address AI-generated works. “I don’t think there is any (framework) at the moment, even at the national level. I think… we’re still talking about products of human intellect. It does not yet address artificial intelligence.” She noted that the rapid evolution of technology has created legal gray areas, particularly when generative AI models are trained on existing creative assets or used to synthesize new content. For instance, AI tools can make minimal modifications to uploaded creative output to produce derivative works, or generate short films featuring digital likenesses of actors without clear rules governing rights and ownership. “When you do generative AI, if you upload any creative output, it can just make changes to it minimally and then generate a new one,” Ms. Roxas-Divinagracia said. “It’s a combination of human intellect, perhaps, and then enhanced by artificial intelligence. Once that’s generated, who will own it? That has not been defined yet, unfortunately.” While copyright laws in the Philippines provide established protection for registered human-made output, enforcement and legal maturity vary widely across ASEAN member states. Smaller members are still in the process of drafting basic IP laws, fragmenting how rights are protected across borders. Ms. Roxas-Divinagracia stressed that the broader question of managing AI infringement and output ownership remains under global study. Technology continues to evolve faster than regional regulations, creating an urgent need for updated policies that safeguard creator rights while encouraging micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to adopt AI tools for production and localization. Despite these legal hurdles, AI is not expected to diminish human creative value. “The economics will change for sure, but it will not remove the value of the creative minds,” she added. According to research by PwC, selected ASEAN creative industries generated an estimated aggregate value of $300 billion in 2025, supported by roughly 30 million creative professionals and 700 million content consumers across the region. Exports of creative goods and services from selected ASEAN economies was estimated at $150 billion in 2024. Globally, creative services exports stood at $1.7 trillion in 2024, while creative goods exports accounted for $709 billion. The industry remains heavily MSME-led, comprising small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers across film, game development, animation, fashion, and performing arts. PwC researchers found that 67% of ASEAN stakeholders view digital transformation, including AI tools, as the primary driver of growth and value creation. However, digital infrastructure, skills, AI readiness, and governance remain uneven across member states, with 54% of respondents still viewing their domestic creative economies as predominantly developing. — Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales