Written by: Haim Ravia, Dotan Hammer
The legal battle over AI training and its implications for intellectual property rights continues to unfold globally. While the UK government is conducting controversial public consultations on the proposal to allow AI companies to use protected works for training AI, new initiatives are offering content creators methods to cash in on the demand for AI training data.
Since 2014, the UK’s copyright law has allowed the use of copyrighted content in machine learning for research purposes. The government recently concluded public consultations regarding a proposal to extend this permissible use to commercial purposes. The outcome may determine the future of AI training in Britain.
Artists and authors, such as Sirs Elton John and Paul McCartney, have spoken out against the proposed amendment and its impact on young artists’ ability to make a living. Other creators have claimed that the consultation was “fixed” in favor of the powerful tech companies, pointing to the consultation having a pre-declared “primary object” that relaxes restrictions for AI training.
Meanwhile, the AI sector’s hunger for training data has led to several companies developing a content monetization scheme for small content creators. These companies advertise themselves as partnering with content creators to license their “leftover” content, raw or unused footage, for AI training purposes.
Click here to view the UK Government’s Copyright and AI Consultation.
