Animation
“Make it look like that studio’s films.” AI has made it one of the most common briefs in animated advertising, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Philippine law does not protect a style as such. It does protect the works, characters and marks a style is usually borrowed from, and the Ad Standards Council has its own rule on imitation.
Can an animation style be copyrighted?
Not as such. Section 175 of the Intellectual Property Code says no protection extends “to any idea, procedure, system, method or operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data as such, even if they are expressed, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work”. A general look, such as a palette, a line quality or a way of lighting a scene, sits closer to that list than to a work. The specific frames, characters and designs that carry the look do not.
What does the law protect, then?
The works themselves. Section 172 lists, among others, “Works of drawing, painting”, “Audiovisual works and cinematographic works” and “Pictorial illustrations and advertisements”, protected from the moment they are created. Under Section 177, the owner’s rights include “Reproduction of the work or substantial portion of the work” and “Dramatization, translation, adaptation, abridgment, arrangement or other transformation of the work”.
That second right is where AI briefs go wrong. Prompting a model to recreate a known character, a famous scene or a recognisable frame can be an adaptation or transformation of someone else’s work, however new the output looks.
What about characters and mascots?
Many characters are also registered marks. Section 121.1 defines a mark as “any visible sign capable of distinguishing the goods (trademark) or services (service mark) of an enterprise”. Section 155 makes it infringement to use, without the owner’s consent, a “reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered mark” in advertising goods or services where that use “is likely to cause confusion”. A lookalike of a famous character in a brand’s ad can be exactly that use.
Is it fair use if the ad is clearly different?
Rarely. Fair use under Section 185 covers “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies for classroom use, scholarship, research, and similar purposes”, and the first factor weighed is the purpose and character of the use, “including whether such use is of a commercial nature”. An ad is commercial by definition, so it starts from the weakest position on that factor.
What does the ASC add?
Advertising has its own test, separate from copyright. The ASC Manual says “Plagiarism is not allowed in advertisements”, meaning an ad “substantially or materially imitating distinguishing features of other advertisements in any part of the world without permission from the owner”. Ads also “shall not contain features, elements, visual or auditory presentations that are unique to the advertising of or owned by another brand regardless of category”. A proven case gets a cease and desist order, effective immediately.
The ASC’s AI circular keeps all of this in force for AI-made work, naming “Compliance with applicable laws relating to copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial designs, and other proprietary rights” among the obligations that still apply.
| What the brief says | Risk |
| “Warm, hand-painted look, soft light, gentle pacing” | Low. A general look, described in your own words |
| “In the style of” a named studio | Medium. The name tends to pull outputs toward that studio’s actual frames, so every output needs checking against them |
| “Make our mascot look like” a known character | High. A protected character, and often a registered mark |
| “Recreate the opening of” a famous film or ad with our product | High. Adaptation of a specific work, and a plagiarism complaint if it echoes another ad |
The brief test
Describe the look in your own words: palette, line, texture, pacing. If the only way to describe it is someone else’s name or character, the brief is borrowing more than a style.
How do you brief AI animation safely?
→ Describe, don’t name. Write the look as qualities, not as a studio, a film or an artist.
→ Build the character from your brand. Start from your own model sheet, so the character is yours from the first frame. Our guide to brand mascot animation covers how to keep it on-model.
→ Check outputs against the obvious sources. Before approval, compare key frames with the works the look resembles, and drop anything that matches a specific frame, character or ad.
→ Keep the record. Prompts, references, approvals and versions. It shows how the work was made if anyone asks.
→ Label it. AI-made ads need a clear disclosure under the ASC circular; what the ASC now requires covers where it goes.
General information, not legal advice. Clear any character, trademark or reference to another brand’s advertising with your legal team before production.
What should you ask an animation studio?
PUNX makes animated ads from Makati: 50-plus people, founded 2023, with P&G, San Miguel, Petron, GCash and Sun Life on the client list. When you brief any of the AI animation studios on your shortlist, ask how they check generated frames against the sources a look came from, and what they keep on file to show it.
FAQ
Can you copyright an animation style in the Philippines?
Not as such. The Intellectual Property Code does not protect ideas, methods or concepts in themselves. It protects the works that carry a style, such as drawings, audiovisual works and advertisements, and the owner controls reproduction and adaptation of them.
Is it legal to make an AI ad in the style of a famous studio?
A general look described in your own words is lower risk. Recreating recognisable frames, scenes or characters can infringe the owner’s rights to reproduction and adaptation, and a lookalike character can also infringe a registered mark.
Does fair use cover AI-generated ads?
Rarely. Fair use covers purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching and research, and the commercial nature of a use weighs against it. An ad is commercial by definition.
What does the ASC say about copying another ad?
The ASC Manual does not allow plagiarism: an ad that substantially or materially imitates distinguishing features of another ad, anywhere in the world, without permission. A proven case gets a cease and desist order, effective immediately.
Related
AI animation studios — 2D, 3D and character work
Brand mascot animation — keeping a character on-model
Who owns AI-generated content — ownership, as opposed to style
Borrowing a look?
Send us the references and the brief. We will tell you which parts are a style you can describe, and which are someone else’s work.
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