On Tuesday, 12 May, the European ministers responsible for culture—on the initiative of eight European Union countries (Germany, Austria, Spain, Estonia, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, and Slovakia)—debated the relevance of the directive (2019/790) on copyright and related rights in the light of technological developments such as artificial intelligence (AI).
The Spanish minister, Ernest Urtasun, mentioned three key legal issues: clarifying the scope of the provision authorising the reproduction of copyright-protected works under certain conditions (Article 4), clarifying the conditions under which generative AI models can be trained on protected works, and increasing the transparency of AI models.
During the debate, the Member States that spoke supported the Spanish approach. Portugal indicated that [Member States] should “ensure the transparency of AI models as well as fair remuneration for copyright holders”. According to Latvia, the current regulatory framework does not address creation models. “AI must serve people, not the other way around”, stressed Greece. As for Croatia, it has called for a “fast and targeted” revision of European legislation to address the concerns expressed by the creative sector.
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen assured, “The difficulties [...] creators [are having] control[ling] the use of their works and [...] obtain[ing] fair remuneration in the age of generative AI is a matter [of which] we are very well aware.”
She mentioned the ongoing evaluation of the 2019 directive in the context of the work on the ‘Democracy Shield’ in Europe (see EUROPE 13815/15). “We are now looking closely at [not only] the provisions [on] exceptions, including the exception [for] data mining, but also [...] the rules on online content-sharing [...] and the provisions [regarding] remuneration”, she indicated, saying she is “willing to consider new measures” for creators.
Between now and the summer, the European Commission will launch a public consultation on this issue. The institution will publish a European AI strategy for creative content in the first quarter of 2027.
In March, the European Parliament had—in a resolution adopted by a large majority—taken the view that AI’s use of copyright-protected works required greater transparency and fair remuneration (see EUROPE 12825/18).
See the note used as a basis for the debate: https://aeur.eu/f/lvu (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)