Can AI really “create” a brand for you?

Used under a Creative Commons Licence

Can AI Name My Brand… And Do I Actually Own It?

What Australian businesses need to know about AI‑brands and the law

AI tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney and Canva can feel a bit magical. You type in a few words and suddenly you’ve got pages of brand names, logo concepts and taglines staring back at you. It’s fast, it’s cheap, and it can be a really fun way to get unstuck creatively. But once you find a name or logo you love, the law steps in and asks a much less glamorous question: who actually owns this, and can you really claim it as “yours” in Australia?

Under Australian law, AI itself is a legal nobody. It can’t own property, it can’t sign a contract and it certainly can’t be listed as the owner of a trade mark. Only people and legal entities (like companies and trusts) can own intellectual property rights. That means when an AI spits out that “perfect” brand name, the law immediately starts looking past the machine to work out which person or business is in a position to own and enforce the rights in it.

So if an AI tool generates something you want to use, there are a few key questions to think about.

Who owns the rights in the output between you and the platform? Are you allowed to use it freely for your business, or are there limits hiding in the fine print? And, perhaps most importantly, is anyone else already using or has already registered something similar, so that you might actually be stepping on someone’s toes without realising it? This is where legal advice stops being a theoretical “nice to have” and becomes very practical very quickly.

The first thing to clear up is a common misunderstanding: no, the AI does not own the brand.

Because it has no legal personality, it can’t own intellectual property of any kind. In Australia, ownership of a trade mark generally turns on a mix of factors. One is what the platform’s terms and conditions say about who gets what rights in the material it generates. Another is who is actually using the mark in business in Australia, and in connection with which goods or services. And a third is who gets in first with trade mark filings, because that can shape the landscape of rights and disputes down the track.

For trade marks, the law cares deeply about use as a “badge of origin” – basically, who is using the sign to tell consumers where the products or services come from.

Copyright is a bit different. For something like a logo or a stylised word, Australian copyright law still expects a real human creative contribution. If you simply press “generate” and accept the first logo the system gives you, without any meaningful human input or refinement, there may not be any copyright at all in that logo.

That doesn’t mean you can’t use it as a trade mark, but it does mean you may have fewer tools to stop others copying the look and feel of it. This can be a real limitation if your brand takes off. Imagine you launch a product with an AI‑generated logo, it becomes a hit, and suddenly copycat brands start using very similar visuals. You might be able to rely on your registered trade mark to stop uses that are confusingly similar as a badge of origin, but if there is no copyright in the logo itself, it can be harder to stop others from using look‑alike artwork in different contexts where trade mark law doesn’t quite bite. In other words, the more famous and valuable your brand becomes, the more that lack of underlying copyright can start to feel like a weak spot in your overall protection strategy.

Many people mix up copyright and trade marks, but they actually protect different things.

Trade marks are about brand identity. They protect things like your business name, logo or slogan as a sign that tells customers, “This product or service comes from us, not someone else.” Think “Nike” as a word and “Just Do It” as a tagline on shoes and ads.

Copyright is about creative works. It protects the artwork itself – for example, the drawing of the Nike swoosh, a photograph on your website, or an illustration on your packaging.

One logo can sit in both worlds. Your logo can be a trade mark when you use it on your products and website to show they are yours, and at the same time it can be protected by copyright as a piece of artwork. But the legal tests and rules for trade marks and copyright are different, even if they apply to the same logo.

Once you add AI into the mix, the picture gets more complicated. You have to look at what the platform’s terms say about who owns the output, who is actually using and registering the brand as a trade mark in Australia, and whether there was enough human creativity in the final design for copyright to exist. Put together, that means the answer is rarely a simple yes or no, which is why getting specific legal advice before rolling out an AI‑generated brand is usually the safest approach.

Think of AI as a very clever helper, not the legal owner of your brand. The law is really asking: “Where was the human brain in all this?” and “Who is actually using this brand in business?”

When it comes to logos, copyright in Australia only protects designs that have enough human creativity in them. If you click “generate” and accept the logo almost exactly as the AI gives it to you, the law may say there is no copyright in that logo at all. It might feel like “your” logo because you picked it, but legally the question is whether a person made real creative choices, or whether the machine did nearly everything.

That matters for business. If there’s no copyright, it is harder to stop other people copying the overall look of your logo, even if they change the words. It can also be awkward if you want to sell or licence your brand later, because buyers and investors like to see strong IP rights behind your visuals. That’s why many businesses now use AI for ideas but then get a designer to refine the logo properly, so there is clear human input, and they also register the logo as a trade mark to strengthen protection.

On the trade mark side, the law is more relaxed about who came up with the idea. If AI suggests a name, you can usually still register it as a trade mark in Australia. What the law cares about is whether the name can function as a trade mark (so it’s not too descriptive), whether you are using it or genuinely intend to use it here, and whether someone else already has stronger rights in the same or a similar name for similar products or services. Ownership flows from using the name in trade and filing for it, not from who “invented” it – that could be you, a designer, AI or anyone.

The big catch is that AI does not run legal checks. It does not look at the Australian Trade Marks Register, it does not see which brands are already in use in Australia, and it does not scan overseas brands that might come here later. It just generates names based on what it has seen in its training data. That means your shiny AI name might be very close to an existing registered trade mark or a brand that has been in the market for years but never registered. In the worst case, you might face an opposition to your trade mark, an infringement letter, or a forced rebrand after you’ve already spent money on packaging, signage and domain names.

It’s also a myth that an AI‑generated name is more likely to be unique. AI systems are trained on existing material – registered trade marks, brand names on websites and social media, product descriptions and so on. In simple terms, it’s remixing what is already out there. It won’t warn you that a name looks too close to another brand. That’s why proper trade mark searches are still essential. In Australia, the first business to use a mark usually has the strongest rights, but when IP Australia examines your application it mainly checks the Register, not what is happening on the ground. You can end up with an accepted application, only to find out later that someone with earlier unregistered rights objects once they notice you.

So even if AI was involved, the risks are very real. Someone might already be using a similar name without having registered it. You file and get accepted, then that earlier user complains or threatens legal action, and you are pushed into negotiations or a rebrand you never planned for. Whether the brand name came from AI, a marketing agency or a friend over coffee, you still need clearance searches and tailored legal advice before you commit.

On top of all that, you have the platform terms. With tools like Canva and other AI services, whether you “own” what’s generated often comes down to the fine print you clicked “accept” on. Some platforms give you broad rights to use the output but keep control over some building blocks. Others say they give you ownership but don’t promise that any IP really exists or that their wording is effective under Australian law. And many are governed by overseas law, which adds another layer of complexity for Australian businesses.

For a business, the takeaway is this: AI can be brilliant for ideas, but it doesn’t replace the legal basics. You still need to understand who owns what, whether your brand is clear of other people’s rights, and how to protect it properly so it can grow, attract investment and stand up in a dispute. That is exactly where a lawyer can help, by translating these rules into clear, practical steps for your particular brand and industry.

At Sharon Givoni Consulting, we can help you with:

• Trade mark clearance searches for AI‑generated names and logos (so you don’t accidentally infringe someone else’s brand).
• Advice on whether your AI‑inspired name or logo is actually registrable as a trade mark in Australia (and overseas, if needed).
• Reviewing AI platform terms to explain what rights you really get in the output and whether it’s safe to build a brand on it.
• Structuring your design process so there is clear human input to support copyright as well as trade mark rights.
• Drafting and reviewing contracts with designers, agencies and collaborators who use AI, to make sure ownership and responsibility are clear.
• Handling disputes, from “cease and desist” letters to negotiations if someone claims your AI‑generated brand is too close to theirs.

For advice about your AI‑generated brand or logo, you can get in touch via the firm’s website or email.

Please note the above article is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice.

Please email us info@iplegal.com.au if you need legal advice about your brand or another legal matter in this area generally.