CLAIM-2026-07-30-02
The Article 50 machine-readable marking obligation does not apply to source code, to short sequences of numbers, symbols or letters, to machine-to-machine outputs without human exposure, to outputs used only in closed-loop industrial and product development environments, or to systems performing an assistive function for standard editing.
Why it matters
This is the carve-out that decides whether a coding agent is in scope at all. The code an agent emits is exempt from marking; almost nothing else the product does is. It reframes the compliance question from 'do we watermark generated code' to 'which of our surfaces did we forget to classify'.
Sources
- europeancom2026faq