CISAC to monitor impact of AI on copyright

In its 2022 annual report published today, CISAC said it had been looking at key issues arising from the relationship between AI and copyright, and whether there is a need to adapt current legislation to evolving technologies.

“These include whether an AI-created work is protectable by copyright, who should be considered the author and the copyright owner and who should be held liable for copyright infringements in relation to AI-created works. These questions have generated debates at international level with important policy implications,” CISAC said.

While it is still generally accepted that AI technology is not currently capable of the autonomous generation of artistic works, policymakers are monitoring the need to adapt existing copyright legislation.

The report says CISAC, through its legal and global policy committees, has prepared a policy recommendation paper that provides guidance to its societies for lobbying purposes. 

The confederation said that in September it participated in a discussion with the World Intellectual Property Organisation over AI and IP, and raised concerns over what it termed an over-broad approach to copyright exceptions for use in AI, particularly in the context of text and data mining.

CISAC is also monitoring developments in the EU, after the publication of the European Commission’s proposal for a legislative package on AI, and a study on AI’s relation to copyright data management and its impact on the copyright legal framework.

The 2022 report also outlines CISAC’s work supporting its 228 author societies worldwide, which together manage the rights of more than 4 million creators from the music, audio-visual, visual arts, drama and literature repertoires. It details the confederation’s diverse services including lobbying, development of best practices and technology as well as the systems to support data exchange, help identify works and pay royalties quickly and accurately.

In addition, the report captures CISAC’s legislative lobbying drives in multiple countries to promote stronger laws protecting creators and rightsholders, as well as recent solidarity action taken by the CISAC community through its global Creators for Ukraine initiative, to aid Ukrainian creators and refugees

“In a world which has lurched from one crisis to another, CISAC continues to work with focus and determination to serve our members, creators and the interests of the collective management sector,” CISAC director-general Gadi Oron said. “Our immediate priorities have shifted to follow the switch to digital consumption in the last two years. They include live streaming, digital licensing and improved information systems support. Our lobbying and educational efforts have all concentrated on digital rights, online income and their importance to creators’ livelihoods in the post-COVID world.”

The annual report will be officially launched at the CISAC general assembly on 2 June.

Download the report in English, French and Spanish.