Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed Act 927 into law, establishing new legal standards for determining ownership of content and models created using generative artificial intelligence (AI). The legislation, originally introduced as House Bill 1876, makes Arkansas one of the first U.S. states to define who owns the output and training results of generative AI systems.

Under the new law, individuals who provide prompts or data to a generative AI tool will generally be considered the owners of the resulting content or trained model—so long as the input data is legally obtained and ownership rights haven’t been transferred via contract. The law also clarifies that any content generated using generative AI must not infringe on existing copyrights or intellectual property rights.

Act 927 also includes a “work made for hire” provision. If a person uses generative AI as part of their employment duties and under the direction of an employer, any resulting content or model training will be considered the property of the employer. This provision only applies if the work is done within the scope of employment and under the employer’s control.

Act 927 takes effect immediately.

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