Art in the Age of Machines: Creative Evolution and Legal Protection from Gutenberg to AI

5 May, 2025
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Intellectual property
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Lucas Charnet


From time to time, the creative world is shaken by a technological breakthrough that seems to herald an artistic apocalypse: the printing press, photography, cinema, the gramophone, the internet, or, more recently, generative artificial intelligence. In all these moments, the same concern has lingered in the air: “Will art as we know it disappear?”

However, if history teaches us anything, it’s that art has never died. It has changed shape, transformed, evolved. And with it, so has the business model that sustains it. What has remained constant in these processes is the need to adapt the legal framework to new realities—especially concerning copyright and related rights.

This article offers a historical journey through the key moments when technology challenged art. A legal and cultural analysis to understand that, rather than bringing about an end, each advancement has led to reinvention. And today, with generative AI, we are not facing an exception, but a new chapter in a long history of transformations.

1. ### The Printing Press and the Birth of Copyright

The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century marked a turning point in the history of knowledge. Until then, books were copied by hand by scribes, which severely limited their production, accessibility, and therefore, their social impact. The printing press allowed for the mass reproduction of written works for the first time, exponentially increasing the reach of ideas and democratizing reading.

From a legal perspective, this marked the beginning of a radical transformation: the need emerged to regulate who could copy and distribute texts, under what conditions, and with what limitations. The system of royal licenses, applied in England in the 16th century, can be considered a precursor to copyright. Later, in the 18th century, the Statute of Anne (1710) was enacted, considered the first modern copyright law.

In Spain, this transition was also crucial. The emergence of new professional roles such as editors, booksellers, and printers led to the consolidation of the modern publishing market, and with it, the need to recognize and protect authorship.

At MES Advocats, we have explored this transformation in depth, especially in our special episode for World Book Day, where we visited the Sociedad Cervantina, located in the printing house that first published Don Quixote. A clear demonstration that technology changed the way we access art—but not its value.

2. ### The Mechanical Loom and the Fear of Job Replacement

During the Industrial Revolution, the emergence of the mechanical loom sparked one of the first major conflicts between technology and artisanal labor. Tailors and seamstresses feared for their futures. Out of this fear emerged Luddism, a protest movement that led to the destruction of machinery in the UK in the early 19th century.

Although many manual jobs were indeed lost, mechanization made clothing—previously a luxury for the wealthy—more accessible to the broader population. Consumption was democratized, and production diversified. Today, textile art remains alive through haute couture, independent design, and contemporary forms of textile expression.

Legally, this historical episode led to the creation of new categories of protection: patents (to protect technical solutions applied to industrial processes) and industrial designs (to protect the aesthetic appearance of products). Both protections are still in force in our legal framework (Law 24/2015 on Patents and Law 20/2003 on the Legal Protection of Industrial Design) and are fundamental for creative sectors linked to fashion and design.

3. ### Photography: The End of Portraits… or the Beginning of New Visual Languages

With the invention of photography in the 19th century by the Burgundian Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, many artists predicted the demise of pictorial portraiture. Who would pay for an oil painting if a camera could capture one’s image more faithfully and quickly? But history proved otherwise.

Photography liberated painting from the constraints of realism and paved the way for new movements like Impressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism, which explored alternative ways of representing reality. This shift was not only aesthetic—it was also legal.

Photography was recognized as a copyrightable work in most European legal systems by the end of the 19th century. In Spain, it is explicitly included under Article 10.1.h of the Intellectual Property Law. Additionally, the right to one’s own image also comes into play when a person’s photo is reproduced or distributed without their consent (Article 18 of the Constitution and Organic Law 1/1982).

Today, with the rise of social media and artificial intelligence, these issues remain a constant subject of legal scrutiny and debate.

4. ### The Gramophone and the Expansion of Recorded Music

The invention of the phonograph and the gramophone in the late 19th century was a true revolution in music accessibility. For the first time, people could listen to music without live performers or reading sheet music. Rather than replacing music, it amplified it.

This gave rise to new business models and legal frameworks. Phonographic rights (for phonogram producers) and related rights (for performers and musicians) emerged. Today, these rights are recognized under Articles 105 and following of Spain’s Intellectual Property Law.

It also led to the creation of the first collective management organizations, as it became impractical for each author to negotiate the use of their works individually. In Spain, the SGAE (General Society of Authors and Publishers) was founded in 1899, and ever since, collective rights management has played a key role in protecting authors’ rights in the music sector.

5. ### Cinema: From Theatrical Threat to Engine of New Industries

The arrival of cinema at the end of the 19th century posed a new threat to stage actors, who saw the seventh art as direct competition. Why go to the theatre when you could see great performances on screen and watch them repeatedly? However, far from disappearing, theatre found new paths and cinema became a completely new industry.

Legally, cinema prompted a decisive shift in copyright law. A film involves a complex chain of rights: screenwriters, directors, actors, composers, producers… All must have their rights properly regulated and protected. Spanish legislation recognizes this collective nature in Article 87 of the LPI, which defines the “audiovisual work.”

Additionally, new forms of exploitation emerged: public screenings, distribution, and synchronization. The advent of sound films added further complexity: music performers, dubbers, and technicians gained prominence and legal protection.

Today, the audiovisual industry is one of the economic engines of intellectual property, especially in a context dominated by streaming platforms that have redefined the business model—but not the essence of storytelling.

6. ### From Cassette to Streaming: Breaking Physical Formats and Reinventing Digital Access

The emergence of the cassette and, especially, the CD-ROM in the 1980s and 1990s revolutionized how music was consumed. For the first time, users could make identical-quality copies of original discs at home, radically altering the music distribution chain.

This change prompted the need to adapt the legal framework. The Spanish Intellectual Property Law, like many others, introduced the concept of private copying (Art. 31), allowing users to make copies for personal use, while requiring blank media manufacturers to pay compensation to rights holders.

Simultaneously, the rise of the top manta (street piracy) and massive CD piracy created a context of growing tension and litigation. Collecting societies, record labels, and courts had to redefine control, inspection, and compensation strategies. This was a pivotal moment when economic rights were especially threatened, highlighting the need for more agile and adaptable licensing systems.

In the early 2000s, platforms like Napster enabled digital distribution without physical formats for the first time, directly challenging the traditional music industry model. The legal response was complex: lawsuits, legislative reforms, and intense pressure from major labels.

This marked the beginning of a new era: streaming. Platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music have replaced ownership with access, profoundly transforming how the industry generates revenue.

Today, the debate centers on fair remuneration for creators in the digital environment. EU Directive 2019/790 on copyright in the Digital Single Market introduces new principles of transparency and fair pay, as well as dispute resolution mechanisms. Spanish law incorporated these principles via Royal Decree-Law 24/2021, which remains under review and frequent legal contention.

7. ### Generative Artificial Intelligence: The Major Contemporary Challenge

The emergence of generative AI has opened an unprecedented debate. For the first time, we are not dealing with a technology that merely changes format, but one that directly simulates the human creative process. Platforms capable of generating songs, illustrations, scripts, or synthetic voices raise fundamental questions about authorship and legal protection.

Under Spanish and European law, a work must display originality and human involvement to be protected by copyright. Therefore, in principle, a creation entirely generated by AI would not have legal recognition as a protected work.

But the debate doesn’t end there. Is the massive use of protected works to train algorithms a rights infringement? What happens if an AI-generated song mimics the style of a real artist? Should remuneration be established for this indirect use?

These questions are central to the international legal agenda. In Europe, the AI Act and the reform of the Copyright Directive aim to tighten regulation around the use of protected datasets. In the United States, some courts have already ruled that AI-generated content is not protectable, but much remains unsettled.

Conclusion: Art Doesn’t Die, But Law Must Evolve

History proves that art does not disappear with technological advances. What changes is how it is produced, distributed, and monetized. And with every transformation, the legal framework must evolve to continue protecting creativity.

At MES Advocats, we understand that each technological innovation demands a legal reassessment. That’s why we offer comprehensive advice to authors, cultural entities, and technology companies to help them navigate these new environments with legal certainty.

From the printing press to artificial intelligence, art has survived. What we must ensure now is that the rights of those who make it possible remain protected.

For more information or personalized advice, contact us at www.mesadvocats.com.

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avance tecnológicoCopyrightInnovación tecnológica y protección jurídicaInteligencia artificial y legalidadTransformación digital y derecho

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