---
title: "List the copyright questions when a tool is trained on client content"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/advise-on-whether-ai-training-on-client-content-infringes-copyright/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A23-B8-1-US"
practice_area: "Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List the copyright questions when a tool is trained on client content

> Build a question list: which exclusive right in § 106 the proposed use resembles, whose work it is under § 201, and which § 107 factor the lawyer will score. Answer none of the questions.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/advise-on-whether-ai-training-on-client-content-infringes-copyright/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Build a question list: which exclusive right in § 106 the proposed use resembles, whose work it is under § 201, and which § 107 factor the lawyer will score. Answer none of the questions. |
| What the lawyer must review | Section 106 gives the owner the exclusive rights to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, perform and display the work publicly in the cases the section states, and, for sound recordings, to perform them publicly by digital audio transmission, subject to §§ 107 through 122. Section 107 states fair use and the four factors. Section 201(a) vests copyright initially in the author, and § 201(b) treats the employer as author of a work made for hire unless a signed writing says otherwise. You decide whether the use needs a licence or is fair use. The question list does not make that decision. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Advise on whether AI training on client content infringes copyright](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/advise-on-whether-ai-training-on-client-content-infringes-copyright.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Build a question list: which exclusive right in § 106 the proposed use resembles, whose work it is under § 201, and which § 107 factor the lawyer will score. Answer none of the questions.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- A client engagement letter may already forbid this use. Read that letter. Section 106 does not replace it.
- Work-made-for-hire depends on § 101 as well as § 201(b). Open § 101 before you label staff work that way.

## Sources

- [17 U.S.C. § 106 (exclusive rights in copyrighted works)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/106) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [17 U.S.C. § 107 (fair use)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [17 U.S.C. § 201 (ownership of copyright)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/201) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*