Human authorship in the age of generative AI: a doctrinal and normative inquiry into Macedonian copyright law

In recent years, courts around the world have begun to confront the legal implications of AI-generated content, particularly in the field of copyright. While Macedonian courts have not yet been directly faced with such questions, it is only a matter of time before similar disputes arise in our jurisdiction. This growing international debate served as the main inspiration for this paper.
The structure of the paper follows clear progression. It begins with an overview of some of the most relevant global tendencies, selected and interpreted from the author’s perspective, in order to frame the complexity of the issue. The question of authorship and copyright protection for AI-generated works is examined both through existing court decisions and doctrinal reflections from several jurisdictions.
The analysis then narrows its focus to the Macedonian context. It outlines the key legal provisions relevant to authorship and copyright, particularly Articles 17 and 19 of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights. It assesses how these provisions are interpreted in judicial practice. Several domestic court decisions that resolve classical questions of authorship were selected and analyzed to understand how judges in Macedonia define and apply core copyright concepts.
The final part of the paper moves toward drawing conclusions and offering reflections on how such cases might be treated in the near future. It raises the question of whether the current legal framework is sufficiently equipped to deal with AI-generated work and considers whether legal reform, either through reinterpretation or structural changes, may be necessary to respond to this emerging challenge.