The Society of Authors has joined the Creators’ Rights Alliance in calling on British Government to protect creators from the existential threat of GenAI in a petition that needs further support to ensure it is debated in parliament.
“Fairness and transparency must be at the heart of the UK’s approach to AI,” say the Society, as part of its wider activities to support creative rights and strengthen copyright law. “Help our mission by signing the petition.”
The call, which is supported by other organisations such as the The Association of Photographers and the Writers Guild of Great Britain, reflects widespread concern about data sources used to train AI systems, some illegal, with little or no attempt made by developers to pay creators for the use of their work.
The petition asks the Government to introduce a statutory duty requiring AI developers to disclose the copyrighted works used to train generative AI in enough detail for creators to identify use of their work, enforce their rights, negotiate licences and be fairly paid.
“Creators need clear rules and regulations that ensure their work is used with consent, proper licensing and fair remuneration,” the petitioners ask. “They need transparency about how their work is being used in AI training, accountability from AI companies, and legal protections that respect creative rights.
“This isn’t about rejecting technology, but about establishing a framework that makes AI development fair and sustainable for the creative industries.”
The Creators’ Rights Alliance acts on behalf of 21 major creator-led groups, trade associations and unions, between them representing over 500,000 creator members and over several million individuals working as creators in the UK – from authors, translators and journalists to artists, illustrators, performers and musicians.
They work on policy issues directly affecting UK creators, such as the impact of generative AI, copyright and intellectual property, fairer contract terms, pay and working conditions.
“We need transparency over the data (creators’ works) used to train AI,” say the Alliance. “It is how we uphold copyright law – which creators need to earn a living, and the UK needs for its global exports.”
Growing call for better systems for Text and Data Mining opt-outs
The petition is well timed. The Communications and Digital Committee of the United Kingdom House of Lords released its fourth report, AI, Copyright and the Creative Industries (PDF) earlier this year, as part of its ongoing inquiry into the interaction between generative artificial intelligence (AI) and copyright law. A key finding was that the government should rule out any reform to the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, including a commercial Text and Data Mining exception.
A Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception is a rule in copyright law that allows people to copy and analyse protected digital content using computer software without asking the copyright owner for permission. It lets researchers look for patterns and trends in big data sources, provided they have lawful access to the material.
In the UK, under Section 29A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the exception is strictly limited to non-commercial research.
The Communications and Digital Committee report formed part of a multi-year effort by the UK government to respond to mounting concerns from both the creative industries and the AI sector, informed by evidence from a wide range of stakeholders.
Beyond the United Kingdom, a European Commission study into the feasibility of a registry of text and data mining opt-outs has also just been published.
That report, available to read here, notes technology that enables online content to be identified even as it is shared, reformatted or renamed could help content creators effectively opt their works out from being used for AI training.
The European Union has broad rules that permit commercial mining unless the rights holder explicitly opts out.
Although the UK is no longer part of the EU, the UK government does take note of potential legislative changes within the bloc, because it remains one of our largest trading partners. The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement trade deal, signed in 2020, covers digital trade and intellectual property.
Campaigning against the unregulated practices of tech companies
The Society of Authors notes that in an age of rapidly advancing technology, it is not feasible to oppose technology or take a stance that is “humans against the machine”.
“There are many ways that innovation in AI can contribute meaningfully to economic growth and public benefit, but this cannot be at the expense of creative human endeavour,” the organisation says.
“As such, we take a human-first approach to AI which considers both the variety of ways that creators might already be experimenting and using technology in their business practices, and the risks that unregulated, rapid roll-out of generative AI is having on the creative industries, society and the environment.
“This is why we are calling on the UK Government to work with us to ensure that the tech industry acts in ways that safeguard the UK’s publishing industry, worth £11 billion, by respecting our primary copyright legislation (the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988).”
The SoA actively campaigns against the unregulated practices of tech companies worldwide that have trained gen AI models on copyright-protected material without permission or compensation.
“Training did not just happen on large volumes of anonymous content or data; millions of copyright-protected books were scraped and copied by US tech companies. This is why we can’t stand by whilst creators’ rights are being eroded for the sake of innovation.”
Head downthetubes for…
• AI, Copyright and the Creative Industries (PDF)
• The Society of Authors: Protecting Your Rights
• Writers Guild of Great Britain: Writers and AI
• The Association of Photographers
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
Graham Bleathman Special Event Announced as 54321FAB Exhibition Opens in Worcester 
Buster’s Tom Thug heads into the future! Original art up for sale 
Panel Borders radio show turns spotlight on Protest Comics 
The Graphic Novel man – the comics of Bryan Talbot re-released at last
Leave a Reply