Wuhan court includes AI costs in copyright infringement damages calculation
A court in Wuhan for the first time included the costs of tokens and licensing fees for AI tools in the calculation of damages in a copyright infringement case involving an AI-generated drama. The plaintiff was awarded 20 000 RMB (about 2 900 USD).
A court in Wuhan, China, ruled in a dispute over an AI-generated audiovisual work and for the first time included costs associated with using AI tools, namely token consumption and licensing fees, in the calculation of damages for copyright infringement. According to the National Law Review website, a company created an hour-long short drama using AI tools in early 2026 and published it on platforms such as WeChat. The day after, another company copied the work, renamed it, and inserted ads into it.
The court recognized the drama as a protectable audiovisual work because employees made their own creative decisions at every stage of production: from the script, through designing prompts and selecting AI outputs, to the final edit. The court assessed AI tools as merely a means, not as the author of the work. In addition to AI costs, the court also took into account traditional factors when calculating damages, such as the length of the work, the reach of distribution, and the duration of the infringement.
The court awarded the plaintiff compensation of 20 000 RMB (approximately 2 900 USD) for copyright infringement and republication of the work. The court also recommended that creators keep records of the creative process, including scripts, prompt drafts, and project files, as evidence for potential future disputes.
Why it matters
The ruling shows that Chinese courts are starting to assess the economic side of creating AI-generated content in disputes over it, specifically the cost of AI tools, not just traditional factors such as the length of the work or the reach of distribution. It also confirms a trend in China where courts recognize copyright protection for AI-generated works if human creative decisions are demonstrably present in the creation process. For companies and individuals who create commercial content with AI tools, the practical recommendation is to keep documentation of the entire creative process.
Two audiences, two different impacts
What this means
For individuals
Anyone who professionally creates content (scripts, videos, images) using AI tools should, according to the case from Wuhan, keep records of their own creative decisions, i.e. prompts, script drafts, and project file versions, in case of a copyright dispute.
For a business
Companies creating AI-generated content now face a new precedent in China, where a court includes the cost of AI tools (tokens, licenses) in the calculation of damages for copyright infringement. This increases the importance of internal documentation of the creative process as evidence for protecting intellectual property as well as for potentially claiming damages.
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