15. Trademarks, Open Source Licenses, AI, and Who Owns Your Code
After this lesson you can
- Explain why names are checked before branding and why trademark rights are territorial
- Distinguish a business name, a domain name and a trademark
- Compare permissive, weak copyleft, strong copyleft and network copyleft licenses as concepts
- Describe the uncertain protection of AI-generated content without treating one court's ruling as a global rule
- Identify four common gaps in a chain of title and how written assignments close them
- Build a checklist for brand, dependencies, contributors and AI use
Video coming soon
Videos are planned to publish from December 2026.
The second protection lesson. It covers name checks and territorial trademarks, the four open source license families, the uncertain status of AI-generated content, and the gaps that commonly break a venture's chain of title.
Questions and answers
Questions a learner would ask about this lesson. Think through your own answer before you open each one.
- I registered my business name. Doesn't that protect my brand?
Show answer
Not by itself. A business name registration is a record of the venture's name where it is formed, and a domain name is an address you register for a website; neither alone gives trademark rights. Trademark rights are territorial, existing generally only where they are obtained. International systems such as WIPO's Madrid System can simplify applications in several territories but do not create one global trademark.
- Why check a name before building a brand?
Show answer
Changing a name later can be costly, and an existing mark in a market you plan to serve can raise a likelihood of confusion, meaning customers may be confused about who offers the goods or services. A basic search can reveal obvious conflicts but cannot clear a name; clearance is a trademark professional's work.
- Isn't open source code free to use however I like?
Show answer
No. Every open source license carries conditions, and they grow from left to right across four families: permissive (mainly keep notices), weak copyleft (share changes to the component), strong copyleft (share the combined work's source, typically triggered by distribution) and network copyleft (share modified source with network users). The lesson recommends keeping a dependency and license list and bringing compliance questions to a professional.
- Who owns content generated by AI?
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The lesson's honest answer is that protection is uncertain and differs by system. For example, in the United States an appeals court in Thaler v. Perlmutter held in 2025 that copyright requires a human author, and the Supreme Court denied review in 2026. That is one system's position, not a global rule, and the claim that AI outputs are public domain everywhere was rejected as overstated.
- What is a chain of title, and where does it usually break?
Show answer
A chain of title is the documented path by which each right a venture uses moves from its creators to the venture, usually through written assignments. The lesson names four common gaps: founders' work before the venture existed, contractors without written assignments, university rights under policy, and sponsor, data and other agreements. Investors, licensees and acquirers check this chain.
Practice quiz
- Question 1A strong copyleft license's sharing obligations are typically triggered by:
- Question 2Network copyleft licenses differ because obligations can be triggered by:
- Question 3Founder A paid a freelancer to write code without a written agreement. The main risk is:
- Question 4Trademarks are best described as:
- Question 5What is the most accurate course statement about AI-generated content?
- Question 6Which license family mainly asks you to keep copyright and license notices, even inside closed products?
- Question 7Which example license does the lesson give for the network copyleft family?
- Question 8What can a basic name search do, according to the lesson?
- Question 9Which is NOT one of the four common gaps in a chain of title named in the lesson?
- Question 10Why does the lesson say hosted software ventures, like Founder A's, check their dependencies carefully?
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