UK Aims to Regulate AI’s Use of Copyrighted Materials

The British government is preparing to regulate the use of copyrighted material in training AI.

The U.K. on Tuesday (Dec. 17) began a consultation designed to provide more clarity for creatives and tech companies on how intellectual property can be used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models.

“Currently, uncertainty about how copyright law applies to AI is holding back both sectors from reaching their full potential,” the government said in its announcement.

“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. After previous attempts to agree a voluntary AI copyright code of practice proved unsuccessful, this government is determined to take proactive steps with our creative and AI sectors to deliver a workable solution.”

The consultation proposes an exception to copyright law for AI training for commercial purposes, while still letting rights holders hold their rights and control the use of their work.

However, the government said additional work with both the AI and creative sector is necessary to make sure standards are effective. The consultation also calls for new transparency requirements for AI developers.

“For example, AI developers could be required to provide more information about what content they have used to train their models,” the announcement said. “This would enable rights holders to understand when and how their content has been used in training AI.”

These efforts come amid a host of legal fights over the use of copyrighted material by companies developing AI models.

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this year, experts say the issue spotlights the pressing need for clearer guidelines and protections in the AI field.

“AI presents unique copyright concerns for businesses, primarily because it can produce content that closely resembles or ‘copies’ human-generated content, such as articles, publications, images and music,” Star Kashman, a cybersecurity and privacy lawyer, said in an interview with PYMNTS.

“The use of AI-generated creations raises complex questions about ownership and copyright, as these creations often use datasets that include copyrighted works of art and may infringe upon these copyrights.”

Meanwhile, some companies have released tools designed to alleviate the problem, such as Adobe’s new video creation offering.

“This tool enables faster content creation and experimentation, all while ensuring that what is being produced is safe for commercial use,” Robert Petrocelli, chief product and technology officer at video company Vimeo, told PYMNTS in October.