Andrew Hepworth

🚨 BREAKING: The U.S. Copyright Office SIDES WITH CONTENT CREATORS, concluding in its latest report that the fair use exception likely does not apply to commercial AI training. From the report's conclusion: "Various uses of copyrighted works in AI training are likely to be transformative. The extent to which they are fair, however, will depend on what works were used, from what source, for what purpose, and with what controls on the outputs—all of which can affect the market. When a model is deployed for purposes such as analysis or research—the types of uses that are critical to international competitiveness—the outputs are unlikely to substitute for expressive works used in training. But making commercial use of vast troves of copyrighted works to produce expressive content that competes with them in existing markets, especially where this is accomplished through illegal access, goes beyond established fair use boundaries. For those uses that may not qualify as fair, practical solutions are critical to support ongoing innovation. Licensing agreements for AI training, both individual and collective, are fast emerging in certain sectors, although their availability so far is inconsistent. Given the robust growth of voluntary licensing, as well as the lack of stakeholder support for any statutory change, the Office believes government intervention would be premature at this time. Rather, licensing markets should continue to develop, extending early successes into more contexts as soon as possible. In those areas where remaining gaps are unlikely to be filled, alternative approaches such as extended collective licensing should be considered to address any market failure. In our view, American leadership in the AI space would best be furthered by supporting both of these world-class industries that contribute so much to our economic and cultural advancement. Effective licensing options can ensure that innovation continues to advance without undermining intellectual property rights. These groundbreaking technologies should benefit both the innovators who design them and the creators whose content fuels them, as well as the general public." - My comments: Although this is a pre-publication version, the report states: "The Office is releasing this pre-publication version of Part 3 in response to congressional inquiries and expressions of interest from stakeholders. A final version will be published in the near future, without any substantive changes expected in the analysis or conclusions." It's GREAT NEWS for content creators/copyright holders, especially as the U.S. Copyright Office's opinion will likely influence present and future AI copyright lawsuits in the U.S. As I've written before, licensing deals seem to be the future of AI training. 👉 Read the full report in the link below. 👉 NEVER MISS my updates and analyses: join my newsletter's 61,000+ subscribers using the link below.

I welcomed ABBA's @BUlvaeus to Westminster today to discuss how we can deliver clarity to the UK’s copyright landscape and the opportunities AI brings. We are working to deliver a solution which increases control for rights holders while building greater transparency