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Newly formed Creative Rights in AI Coalition urges government to protect copyright
A new alliance of organisations, the Creative Rights in AI (Artificial Intelligence) Coalition, has urged the government to protect copyright ahead of an imminent consultation.
Launching on Monday 16th December, the new coalition of rights holders, which includes publishers and authors, has outlined three key principles for copyright and generative AI policy and made a statement supported by all member organisations, which include trade bodies such as the Publishers Association (PA) and Society of Authors (SoA). The coalition is calling on the government to adopt the principles as a framework for developing AI policy.
The newly formed coalition’s 30+ members include the PA and SoA, Publishers’ Licensing Services, Independent Publishers Guild, Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, Association of Authors’ Agents, the European Publishers Council, Association of Illustrators, and Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. Other members include the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers as well as the International Association of Scientific Technical & Medical Publishers. Pan Macmillan has also signed up.
The coalition’s three principles for AI policy focus on a dynamic licensing market with robust protections for copyright, control and transparency for content creators, and driving growth and innovation in the creative and tech sectors.
New research, which accompanies the launch, shows “that the public overwhelmingly back transparency in the training of AI models and the payment of royalties to content creators by tech firms”, the coalition said.
The polling from Reset Tech and YouGov of 2,149 people showed that 72% of respondents said AI companies should be required to pay royalties to the creators of text, audio or video that they use to train AI models. Additionally 80% of respondents said AI companies should be required to make public all the information that their models have been trained upon.
The coalition released the following statement on the importance of protecting copyright: “The UK’s world-leading creative and tech sectors put it in a unique position to set a global standard for how both sectors can innovate together and continue to provide high-quality services.”
The statement continues: “Protecting copyright and building a dynamic licensing market for the use of creative content in building generative AI (GAI) isn’t just a question of fairness: it’s the only way that both sectors will flourish and grow.
“The UK creative industries generate well over £100 billion annually. We have, quite literally, earned the right to have our voice heard. The key to that success, and future growth, is copyright law.”
The coalition added: “We support the government’s mission for long-term, secure growth in the creative and tech sectors. We are eager to see the development of a vibrant licensing market and support the sectors which rely on us for their future prosperity, but we can only do so with a robust copyright framework which preserves our exclusive rights to control our works and thereby act as a safeguard against misuse.
“Ours is a positive vision, a vision of collaboration between the creative industries and generative AI developers, where we can all flourish in the online marketplace. We call on the government and the tech sector to join us in building a future that values, protects and promotes human creativity.”
“This is a critically important time for creators and rights holders,” the trade bodies said. “The threat to the creative community from the use of copyright-protected content in the training of LLMs without transparency, permission and fair compensation is significant. The creative industries in the UK earn over £100bn annually. Protecting copyright and building a dynamic licensing market that takes into account the creative as well as tech sectors must be a priority as a path to success and growth.
“The government must ensure the strength of the UK’s copyright regime is maintained so the creative industries can continue to thrive. We are extremely pleased to support the launch of the Creative Rights in AI Coalition on behalf of all the creators and rights holders our members represent and publish and indeed would encourage everyone in our industry to support this vital campaign.”
Other member organisations of the Creative Rights in AI (Artificial Intelligence) Coalition include music businesses, specialist interest publications, unions and photographers and media organisations such as the Guardian News & Media and Mumsnet.
AI has become increasingly discussed across the industry including for audiobooks, across translation, and with new publisher Spine’s pledge to publish 8,000 titles with AI next year.
Read more about the coalition.
