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We win on ‘AI’ and copyright - for now

THE UK government on 18 March published its impact statement and a report on its attitude to “AI” and copyright. And the punchline is: “in light of the strong views from the consultation, the gaps in evidence and the rapidly evolving AI sector and international context, a broad copyright exception with opt-out is no longer the government’s preferred way forward...”

As one campaigner put it: “We have forced a U-turn on the government... we started off on the losing side and they have rowed back.” following more than 11,000 responses to last year's consultation and a scathing House of Lords Committee report. But of course there is a “but”:

“Instead,” the government continues: “we propose to gather more evidence on how copyright laws are impacting the development and deployment of AI across the economy and the economic benefits of reform. This will include further consideration of the effects of proposals on copyright owners, developers, and users, including the effects on SMEs and individuals.”

What we do not see in the report is a positive affirmation of the importance of authors' and performers' rights of the kind that their Lordships called for. Instead, the government says “We will not introduce reforms to copyright law until we are confident that they will meet our objectives for the economy and UK citizens.” - though it does go on to mildly note that “This means protecting the UK’s position as a creative powerhouse, while unlocking the extraordinary potential of AI to grow the economy and improve lives. Any reform must ensure that right holders can be fairly rewarded for the economic value their work creates, and that they are protected against unlawful and unfair use of their work.”

There will be working groups to discuss four topics. Quoting verbatim:

Digital Replicas. ‘Digital replicas’ can be a powerful tool, including for the creative industries. However, when someone’s likeness is replicated without their permission it can be harmful. We will launch a consultation in the summer to seek views on how we address these harms, while protecting legitimate innovation.
Labelling AI-generated content. It can be helpful to consumers to understand whether content has been made using AI. It may also help protect against disinformation and harmful deepfakes. We will establish a taskforce to put forward proposals for Government on best practice for labelling AI-generated content, with an interim report to be published in the autumn.
Creator control and transparency. We will publish a review of the mechanisms available for creators to control their works online. This will include standards, technical solutions and best practice on input transparency. This review will inform where there are gaps and whether there is an appropriate role for government in addressing them.
Independent creatives. The UK has always championed independent creators, and it is vital that this continues in the decades to come. We will launch a working group on independent and smaller creative organisations to explore whether there is a role for government to support their ability to license their content.

Please do send your reactions to these documents.

Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence .gov.uk

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