The EU AI Act and its implications for copyright
The near final text for the EU’s Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act), which aims to establish a harmonised legal framework for the development, placing on the market, putting into service and use of AI systems in the EU was recently published. The AI Act introduces a risk-based approach that sets different rules and obligations for AI systems depending on their potential impact on health, safety and fundamental rights. Among the AI systems that are subject to specific requirements, the AI Act includes some provisions that are relevant for copyright.
First, the AI Act requires providers of general-purpose AI models, such as those used for natural language processing or computer vision, to put in place a policy to respect EU copyright law, in particular to identify and respect the reservations of rights expressed by right holders. This obligation applies regardless of the jurisdiction in which the copyright-relevant acts underpinning the training of these models take place.
Second, the AI Act requires providers of general-purpose AI models to draw up and make publicly available a sufficiently detailed summary about the content used for training of the model, such as the main data collections or sets and a narrative explanation about other data sources used. This obligation aims to enhance the transparency and accountability of AI systems and to facilitate the enforcement of rights and remedies by right holders and other affected parties.
These provisions will raise a number of questions and challenges for both providers and users of AI systems, as well as for right holders and licensing bodies. For instance, how can providers of AI systems effectively identify and respect the reservations of rights expressed by right holders, especially when dealing with large and diverse datasets? How can providers of AI systems ensure the accuracy and completeness of the summaries of the training data, and what are the consequences of providing inaccurate or misleading information? How can right holders and licensing bodies monitor and enforce their rights and interests in relation to the use of their content by AI systems, and what are the available remedies in case of infringement or misuse?
As a law firm specialised in copyright law, we are closely following the developments of the EU AI Act and its implications for the creative sector. We are ready to assist our clients and partners in navigating the complex and evolving legal landscape of AI and to provide them with tailored and innovative solutions.
13 February 2024
Jørgen Bek Weiss Hansen
