Hi there,
As some of you may know, Mumsnet is part of the Creative Rights in AI Coalition, which is a group of organisations concerned about the threat that unlicensed use of copyrighted content by AI firms poses to creatives and publishers. We wanted to share some further info about this issue, as well as details on how you can support the campaign.
The government is currently consulting, and has put forward proposals to give AI companies a widespread exemption to creative copyright. In effect, this means that artists of all kinds will be required to opt out of the scraping of their work, or have it taken without consent or payment, to build AI models.
The creative industries contribute £126 billion to the UK, they employee 2.4 million people, 70% of which live outside London, they drive tourism, contribute to our reputation across the globe, and they bring joy, community and forge a culture in which we are all reflected. And yet the government proposals have not been subject to an economic impact assessment, which is both careless and threatens UK growth.
The government’s proposal represents a transfer of control and wealth of the UK creative sectors property to Silicon Valley, smashing a hole in the moral right of creators to present their work as they wish, and undermining a 300-year-old gold-plated copyright system that supports individual artists and creative businesses, large and small, to a revenue stream that allows them to continue to create new work.
Government claims that the copyright system is ‘unclear’. Judges, lawyers, the regulator all disagree. The law is clear, but it is being broken in plain sight at eye-watering scale. The government response is to change the definition of theft which punishes the victims and rewards those who are stealing.
The UK’s robust system is in fact one of our greatest strengths. Having a higher bar of copyright in the UK is one of the main reasons why rights holders invest and work in the UK. Moreover, the question of ‘fair use’ is far from settled in the US. Court cases as recently as this week found in favour of the copyright holder against an AI firm.
Government has set out its preferred option already – to give away our property rights. Meanwhile, it is blocking the Kidron amendments introduced into the Data (Use and Access) Bill that would make the existing copyright regime work in the age of AI.
Britain’s creative industries are well positioned and want to play their part in the AI revolution, but they need to do so from a firm intellectual property base otherwise Britain will lose out on its best growth opportunity. MPs are being asked to vote against the amendments that the Lords put in place to protect copyright and you can add your support by writing to your MP asking them not to vote against the amendments.
There is a link here to write to your MP and you can find the government consultation here if you'd like to comment directly.
Thanks,
MNHQ