Who owns AI-written code? IP rights and risks when AI helps with coding

The 2026 midterm elections have reshaped the political landscape, but will they meaningfully change the direction of AI regulation and enforcement? Tyler Thompson and Gerard Donovan, co-chairs of Reed Smith’s AI team, examine what the election results could mean for businesses – from state regulation to enforcement, intellectual property, and the prospects for federal AI legislation.

In this episode of Tech Law Talks, Reed Smith’s Gerard Donovan, Sonny Grewal, Mike Forbes, and Tyler Thompson discuss the IP questions raised when developers use AI coding assistants or “vibe code.” They cover copyright authorship, trade secret and open-source licensing risks and mitigation strategies, and patenting when AI is part of the process. The group also shares practical steps in-house teams can take to protect their own IP and avoid infringing others’.  

Reed Smith Global AI Practice Co-Chairs Nick Breen, Gerard Donovan, and Tyler Thompson explore how organizations are moving from AI experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption and the complex legal issues that follow. From intellectual property and copyright disputes to governance, regulation, and emerging global frameworks, they share practical insights on the opportunities, risks, and decisions shaping AI strategy today.

A strong AI governance program starts with knowing what data you have, what you need to keep, and what should be disposed of. Reed Smith attorneys Anthony Diana, Therese Craparo, Kiriaki Tourikis, and Kristen Pologruto explain how a tailored records retention schedule can provide the foundation for more reliable data, smarter risk management, and responsible AI adoption.

Effective AI governance starts with effective data governance. Anthony Diana, Therese Craparo, Kiriaki Tourikis, and Kristen Pologruto explore how organizations can strengthen the data foundation behind AI to improve results, manage risk, and build more defensible AI programs.

As AI becomes embedded across the enterprise, legal and compliance teams face new questions around discoverability, preservation, privilege, and the defensible use of AI in document review. Anthony Diana, Therese Craparo, and Michael Rubayo join Robert Cruz of Smarsh to discuss lessons from existing e-discovery practices and practical considerations for managing AI-generated information and emerging litigation risks.

The EU’s Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act are reshaping how technology companies operate, compete, and manage online services. In this episode, Reed Smith attorneys Natasha Tardif and Léonie Dhellemmes break down the latest enforcement actions, multimillion-euro fines, and key compliance considerations for businesses navigating Europe’s rapidly evolving digital regulatory framework.

As AI transforms communications monitoring and supervision, businesses face growing pressure to demonstrate that their compliance programs are effective, defensible, and well governed. In this episode of “Tech Law Talks,” Smarsh’s VP of Regulatory and Information Governance, Robert Cruz, joins Reed Smith lawyers Anthony Diana, Therese Craparo, and Michael Rubayo to explore evolving regulatory expectations, the shift from lexicons to AI-powered surveillance, and the ways that organizations can manage risk at a time when autonomous AI agents are becoming part of the compliance landscape.

As the use of artificial intelligence accelerates across financial services and other regulated industries, businesses are facing difficult questions about when AI outputs, chatbot exchanges, and agent activity become records that must be retained. In this episode of “Tech Law Talks," Smarsh’s Robert Cruz joins Reed Smith lawyers Anthony Diana, Therese Craparo, and Michael Rubayo as they discuss emerging regulatory expectations, governance strategies, third-party risk, and the growing compliance challenges posed by agentic AI.    

Generative AI is transforming e-discovery, but with real-world deployment comes real-world challenges. In this episode of Tech Law Talks, host Anthony Diana sits down with Dera Nevin of FTI Consulting to cut through the hype, covering the myth of "one tool fits all," prompting complexities, pricing pitfalls, and how to identify use cases where AI actually delivers ROI.