Found in translation: Looking for free and creative choices in AI-generated translations
Translators have traditionally played an essential role in bridging languages and cultures. On the one hand, they attribute meaning to the source text that was written in a concrete cultural context. On the other hand, they transfer that meaning to a precise other cultural context, the target audience.
A critical challenge for translators, as mediators, is the striking of a fair balance between remaining faithful to the source text and guaranteeing that the target audience gets a message that resonates with them (Liddicoat 2016). To the degree that translators go beyond mere word-to-word translation and move toward creative adaptation, their derivative work can meet originality and be protected under the European copyright regime (WIPO 2026; Pila & Torremans 2019).
AI-uses for translation purposes pose a key question: can AI-generated/assisted translations satisfy this same originality threshold or does the lack of genuine human creative choices render them mere technical reproductions, unprotectable by copyright?
This contribution explores how the old-school ‘droit d’ auteur’, as developed in European case law (Infopaq; Football Association Premier League; Painer; Cofemel), can be applied to three increasingly common scenarios: (i) raw AI-translation output; (ii) light post-editing (e.g., fixing errors without changing stylistic choices); and (iii) substantial human revision reshaping tone and other creative dimensions for the target audience. It submits that originality in translation should be assessed by the traceable free and creative choices made by the human, reflecting the above balancing between fidelity and resonance that has long shaped the translator’s work. Building on latest discussions on AI/copyright (Karttunen 2025), we propose a framework for distinguishing protectable human-authored translations from unprotectable AI-outputs with concrete implications for translators’ rights and duties.
References:
C-5/08, Infopaq International (CJEU, 16 July 2009)
C-145/10, Painer (CJEU, 1 December 2011)
C-403/08, Football Association Premier League and Others (CJEU, 4 October 2011)
C-683/17, Cofemel (CJEU, 12 September 2019)
Karttunen S, ‘Copyright of AI-generated works: Approaches in the EU and beyond’ (PE 782.585; European Parliamentary Research Service, December 2025)
Liddicoat A, ‘Translation as Intercultural Mediation: Setting the Scene’ (2016) 24(3) Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 347
Pila J and Torremans P, European Intellectual Property Law (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2019)
WIPO, Guide to the Copyright and Related Rights Treaties Administered by WIPO (2nd edn, WIPO 2026)
Dr Georgios Bouchagiar is a postdoctoral researcher at VUB CDSL (and the Ionian University), focusing on law and technology. He holds a PhD on surveillance and privacy (Ionian University), an LLM on law and technology (Tilburg University), a MSc on intellectual property and new technologies (Ionian University) and a law degree (Athens Law School). Since 2018 his professional experience has included research on: AI, data protection and surveillance (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki); criminal law/procedure and new technologies (University of Luxembourg and Free University of Brussels); biometric surveillance (Tilburg University); and intellectual property rights and distributed ledger technologies (University of Amsterdam and University of Antwerp). He regularly presents his work in international conferences and other academic venues and his publication-record includes more than 70 entries.
Maria Bottis is an Attorney-at-law and a Professor, School of Information Science and Informatics, DALMS, Ionian University. She graduated from Arsakeion High School of Patras with High Honors (20/20 graduation certificate, first of class) and had been under full tuition scholarship throughout high school. In 1985, she topped the Greek National examinations for entrance in all Universities/all disciplines with 1998 points over 2000, and entered in Athens Law School first. She is a Honors graduate of Athens Law School (graduated first of class). She is a holder of a LL.M degree (Cambridge Law School UK) a LL.M degree from Yale Law School and a PhD on medical information law and ethics from the University of Athens. She was accepted by Harvard Law School for LLM studies in 1993. She was appointed Faculty Fellow at Harvard University, Center for Ethics and the Professions (2000-2001). She has been awarded scholarships from NATO, the Onassis Foundation, IKY (the Greek National Scholarships Foundation), the Rotary Club of Athens, the Yale Law School, Harvard and Clare Hall, Cambridge.
