AI Meme Copyright Fight Tests Human Authorship Rules

A legal dispute over the viral character Tung Tung Tung Sahur is testing how copyright law applies to creations made with generative AI. The character, also called Triple T, was created in 2025 by an Indonesian teenager known as Noxa using OpenAI’s image generator and later became a global meme across videos, cosplay, merchandise and games. French agency Mementum represents Noxa and claims rights in the character, while companies behind the Roblox game Steal a Brainrot dispute those claims in federal court. Their complaint argues that copyright requires human authorship and that AI-generated material does not qualify. Supporters of creator rights say internet-native artists can be excluded from profits, while others argue that meme culture is collectively shaped by the communities that make characters famous.

The Guardian, Kari Paul – Who owns ‘brain rot’?: inside the international legal drama over a beloved meme – 6th October 2026