The UK government has launched a consultation on plans to give “certainty” to the creative industries and AI developers on how copyright material can be used to train AI models.
Key areas of the consultation include “boosting trust and transparency” between the sectors, so right holders have a “better understanding of how AI developers are using their material and how it has been obtained.”
The consultation also explores how creators can license and be remunerated for the use of their material, and how access to data for AI developers “can be strengthened to enable innovation across the UK AI sector.”
The government proposal says that uncertainty about how copyright law applies to AI is “holding back both sectors from reaching their full potential. It can make it difficult for creators to control or seek payment for the use of their work, and creates legal risks for AI firms, stifling AI investment, innovation, and adoption.
The government says that after previous attempts to agree a voluntary AI copyright code of practice “proved unsuccessful,” it is “determined to take proactive steps with our creative and AI sectors to deliver a workable solution.”
The consultation proposes introducing an exception to copyright law for AI training for commercial purposes while allowing rights holders to reserve their rights, so they can control the use of their content. “Together with transparency requirements, this would give them more certainty and control over how their content is used and support them to strike licensing deals. This would also give AI developers greater certainty about what material they can and cannot use and ensure wide access to material in the UK.”
The consultation also proposes new requirements for AI model developers to be more transparent about their model training datasets and how they are obtained. AI developers could be required to provide more information about what content they have used to train their models. This would enable rights holders to understand when and how their content has been used in training AI.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, said: ”The UK has an incredibly rich and diverse cultural sector and a ground breaking tech sector which is pushing the boundaries of AI. It’s clear that our current AI and copyright framework does not support either our creative industries or our AI sectors to compete on the global stage.
“That is why we are setting out a balanced package of proposals to address uncertainty about how copyright law applies to AI so we can drive continued growth in the AI sector and creative industries, which will help deliver on our mission of the highest sustained growth in the G7 as part of our Plan for Change.
“This is all about partnership: balancing strong protections for creators while removing barriers to AI innovation; and working together across government and industry sectors to deliver this.”
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, said: ”This government firmly believes that our musicians, writers, artists and other creatives should have the ability to know and control how their content is used by AI firms and be able to seek licensing deals and fair payment. Achieving this, and ensuring legal certainty, will help our creative and AI sectors grow and innovate together in partnership.
“We stand steadfast behind our world-class creative and media industries which add so much to our cultural and economic life. We will work with them and the AI sector to develop this clearer copyright system for the digital age and ensure that any system is workable and easy-to-use for businesses of all sizes.”
The consultation will run for 10 weeks. It commences on 17 December 2024 and will close on 25 February 2025.
Jon Creamer
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