Copyright in 2026: Risks, Opportunities & Strategies for Modern Businesses
Digital content plays a central role in nearly every modern organization, whether that content is outward‑facing or not. From internal product documentation to user experience (UX) assets and training materials, the volume of materials that deserve—and require—copyright protection continues to grow.
At the same time, the explosion of AI‑generated content has introduced new questions around authorship, ownership, and disclosure. The U.S. Copyright Office has made clear that human authorship is still required for protection, and AI‑generated elements must be disclosed in mixed works.
The rise of distributed, remote, and hybrid teams also creates new challenges around protecting your organization’s own work while facing the risk of unintentionally reusing third-party materials without proper licensing. When files move across devices, platforms, and collaboration tools, it becomes easier for proprietary materials to be copied, shared, or repurposed without clear oversight. Ensuring teams understand what is and isn't protected, and how to handle assets properly, is more important than ever.
Public Domain Day 2026: What Entered the Public Domain—and What It Means for You
Every January 1, a new set of creative works transitions into the public domain in the United States—this year, thousands of works from 1930 and sound recordings from 1925 became freely usable without copyright restrictions. This includes novels, films, compositions, and early character iterations. To learn more about the works that entered the public domain this year and learn more about copyrights and the public domain, read our blog post here.
It’s key for businesses to understand how to legally leverage public domain content and how to avoid missteps.
How businesses can legally leverage public domain works
You don’t have to use newly released public domain content—but understanding what enters the public domain each year helps your team stay aligned with evolving copyright landscapes.
Inspiration: Public domain materials can inform branding, product naming explorations, creative direction, or historical research.
Version distinction: Only the original 1930 versions are in the public domain. Later adaptations may still be fully protected.
Don’t assume “old” equals “free”: Public domain eligibility is specific and governed by defined copyright terms—not the age of the work alone.
Beware of trademark conflicts! Names, logos, or branded character elements may still be trademarked, even if the underlying work is part of the public domain.
Copyright Compliance in a Digital World
Today’s content environment requires clear internal guardrails. Strong compliance practices reduce risk and help ensure teams don’t unintentionally introduce copyrighted materials into your workflows.
In addition to following internal best practices, teams benefit from understanding both sides of the copyright equation:
What your organization owns and must protect, and
What’s protected “out there” that your teams must avoid misusing?
Awareness of Your Organization’s Copyrighted Assets
Recognize what qualifies as protectable work. Teams should understand which materials created internally—such as documentation, design files, UX elements, research outputs, or training content—are automatically copyrighted.
Build habits around safeguarding internal assets. Encourage teams to handle proprietary content with care, especially in remote or shared environments where materials can be copied, reshared, or stored without control.
Ensure internal clarity about ownership. Employees should know when the company, not the individual, holds the copyright (for example, under work‑made‑for‑hire or assignment agreements).
Best practices for internal teams
Know what not to use. Teams should recognize that third‑party content—including images, articles, videos, code snippets, or AI‑generated outputs from external platforms—may be protected, even if publicly accessible.
Clarify rules for third‑party assets. Define how stock images, templates, AI tools, and external content may or may not be used.
Strengthen contractor agreements. Ensure proper ownership assignments or work‑made‑for‑hire language.
Train teams on licensing basics. Employees should know that “found online” ≠ free to use. Just because something appears in a search result, social platform, or shared folder doesn’t mean it’s free to use or adapt.
Maintain licensing documentation. Keep a centralized and organized record of rights, permissions, and proofs of purchase.
Understand evolving risks. AI‑generated assets often incorporate material drawn from copyrighted datasets, and some uses may create unintended exposure if teams assume the outputs are automatically safe.
The Role of Licensing Hygiene and Why This Awareness Matters
Documenting where your assets originate and what rights you have is essential. Clear attribution reduces risk, supports enforcement, and helps maintain consistency across distributed teams.
By helping teams understand both the value of internal assets and the boundaries around external assets, organizations reduce the likelihood of accidental misuse while strengthening long‑term IP protection. This dual awareness builds a culture of respect for intellectual property—one that supports compliance, protects innovation, and minimizes avoidable risk.
Copyright Strategy as Part of a Comprehensive IP Plan
A strong copyright program becomes even more effective when integrated with your broader IP protections:
Pairing copyright with patents, trademarks, and trade secrets helps strengthen your innovation and brand portfolio. Many internal assets hold real value, such as software, internal documentation, training content, product images, packaging, CAD files, and UX design.
Registration offers defensive and offensive benefits, from enforcement leverage to improved negotiating power.
Prioritizing a holistic approach ensures copyright decisions aren’t made in isolation but support long-term business and innovation strategies.
Awareness of risks in the modern landscape, such as content scraping and dataset misuse powered by AI, unauthorized reuse across social media and other digital platforms, etc.
What Businesses Should Do This Month
A practical, actionable checklist as you kick off the year:
Review creative assets and licensing agreements for accuracy and completeness.
Audit your marketing and digital teams for risky practices or unclear sourcing.
Identify core business assets that qualify for copyright but have never been formally secured.
Register key works created in the past year, especially customer‑facing materials.
Evaluate your AI content policy, focusing on human authorship and proper disclosure.
Schedule a Q1 IP strategy session to align copyright with your broader patent, trademark, and trade secret roadmap.
Conclusion
Copyright Law underscores the fact that copyright isn’t static—it evolves with technology, business practices, and cultural shifts. Understanding these developments helps teams stay compliant, avoid risk, and prevent issues before they impact innovation.
If your organization would benefit from copyright searching and registration, reviewing licensing and other transactions/agreements, opinions and strategic counseling, or a holistic IP strategy session, Advent is here to support you every step of the way.