AI coding agents come with legal risk [Video]

Developers using AI to write code may run afoul of copyright or licenses, exposing employers to lawsuits — a risk that will compound as AI-native software engineering takes hold.

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AI coding agents are poised to take over a large chunk of software development in coming years, but the change will come with intellectual property legal risk, some lawyers say.

AI-powered coding agents will be a step forward from the AI-based coding assistants, or copilots, used now by many programmers to write snippets of code. But as coding agents potentially write more software and take work away from junior developers, organizations will need to monitor the output of their robot coders, according to tech-savvy lawyers.

Media outlets and entertainers have already filed several AI copyright cases in US courts, with plaintiffs accusing AI vendors of using their material to train AI models or copying their material in outputs, notes Jeffrey Gluck, a lawyer at IP-focused law firm Panitch Schwarze.

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