In the early days of digitalization, copyright violations were mainly about photocopies or music recordings. Today, the situation is much more complicated. The battle with large AI companies is now primarily fought by lawyers. In Europe, if someone uses the works of others not just for inspiration but copies parts of them, they need permission from the creator or their heirs. This is unless the copied artist has been dead for more than 70 years, which is the standard protection period.
The continental European view on copyright differs significantly from the Anglo-Saxon perspective. In Europe, copyright is based on the intellectual creation of the author. In contrast, the English-speaking world focuses on who has the right to reproduce a work. Historically, in the USA, only registered authors could control the distribution of their works, whereas in Europe, this right was inherent due to the creator’s work.
AI algorithms often train using copyrighted works. The debate on whether this is legally permissible has just begun. If individual authors sue AI companies, there’s a risk that everyone could end up worse off: artists might lose rights to their works, and lawsuits could hinder the development of new AI products.
A pragmatic solution might be collective management organizations for texts, images, music, and films taking care of their members’ interests. Early proposals suggest how future agreements might look.
Generative AI opens up entirely new possibilities for creating something new from an original. There are now many tools that generate similar but machine-created content based on existing works. Numerous AI text programs write various texts based on prompts. Platforms like Udio or Suno generate music, and image AIs like Dall-E and Midjourney produce images in any style on demand. There are even AI tools that can produce entire videos.
Before these tools can deliver such material, they must learn extensively. They have been fed terabytes to petabytes of data, known as tokens, which are small pieces of existing text, image, and audio files. These fragments serve as the foundation for AI-generated material.
This evolving landscape presents challenges and opportunities. The need for clear rules is urgent as AI continues to advance. Both creators and AI companies seek a balance between innovation and respecting intellectual property rights. The legal framework will need to adapt to new technologies and their implications for creativity and ownership.
As AI technologies develop, discussions around fair compensation for creators whose works are used in AI training are becoming more prominent. There is concern among AI companies about potential legal repercussions and the need for transparent regulations to guide the use of copyrighted material in AI development.
Overall, the intersection of AI and copyright law is a complex and evolving issue. The search for solutions continues, with stakeholders from various sectors working to find a path forward that respects the rights of creators while fostering technological innovation.