As state legislatures begin exploring how to regulate artificial intelligence, coverage from Law360 is highlighting the work of Samford University Cumberland School of Law Professor Tim McFarlin, whose scholarship has already helped chart the path for possible state copyrights and patents in AI-generated content.

The article, “States Eye AI Ownership Laws To Fill Federal IP Gaps,” examines efforts by lawmakers to address a growing gap in federal intellectual property law. Because federal copyrights and patents are presently only available for human creativity, content generated with AI tools can fall outside traditional legal frameworks.

McFarlin’s article, “The Unexplored Future of State Copyrights and Patents in AI-Generated Creations,” recently published in the Texas A&M Law Review, considers whether and how states could step in to fill that gap. What began as a theoretical exploration has quickly become a real-time legal issue. With Arkansas passing a first-of-its-kind AI content ownership statute in 2025, and with Iowa presently considering a similar law, McFarlin told Law360, “it’s now actually happening.”

The Arkansas law, for example, declares that a person who provides the input or directive to a generative AI system will own the resulting content, so long as it does not infringe on existing intellectual property rights.

McFarlin’s research places these developments in historical context, noting for instance that before the first federal copyright and patent laws in 1790, states had granted patents and registered copyrights. If federal law continues to exclude AI-generated creations, he suggests states may once again play an active role in copyright and patent law.

Law360 reports that attorneys and policymakers are beginning to seriously consider the pros and cons of state AI-ownership laws, including thorny questions of federal preemption and the logistical challenges of a state-by-state approach.

Given those uncertainties, the rapid emergence of state legislation underscores the urgency of the issue and the relevance of McFarlin’s work.

His scholarship reflects Cumberland School of Law’s ongoing leadership in addressing complex legal questions at the intersection of technology and public policy, as courts and lawmakers grapple with intellectual property issues in the age of artificial intelligence.