The UK government is proposing to change UK laws to provide an exemption from copyright rules to allow AI developers to mine video, audio, and text content.
However, Sony Music, a giant in the entertainment world, is calling out the government’s law an “unworkable” and “shortsighted” proposal.
Sony Music is also stating that the law that is set to allow AI and copyright poses a risk to future investment in the UK.
The New York-based company, led by British chief executive Rob Stringer, has also told ministers that their plans risk undermining its licensing negotiations with AI firms.
However, according to the government, the proposed law aims to allow AI developers to flourish.
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The proposed law is said to enable tech firms to use content, including video, audio, and text, to train their models unless creators “opt out” of the system to retain their copyrights.
Sony Music, which works with artists including Adele, One Direction, and Myles Smith, has described the “opt-out mechanism” as “unworkable and illusory” in a consultation submission said to have been obtained by The Sunday Times.
According to the obtained submission, Sony Music suggests that
If a “single copy of a work anywhere on the internet” was not tagged correctly, the copyright could be lost and exploited.
“Property owners should not have to proactively assert rights over every piece of their property in order not to have them expropriated.”
“To put it in another way, would the government require homeowners to tag all their possessions to be protected against burglary?”
“The economic contribution of the UK music industry is significantly put at risk by rushed, unbalanced, and irreversible proposals for legislative reform under UK copyright law.”
The company said it would be “shortsighted” of the government to “upend decades of established intellectual property law for an AI investment case that may or may not yield returns.”
They told the government that it was involved in multiple negotiations to license its intellectual property (IP) to AI developers but warned that these deals were less likely to proceed if the AI proposals were adopted. It suggested that the proposals are likely to reduce, not increase, AI licensing activity in the UK market.”.
Also added that:
“The existing UK copyright framework delivers legal certainty and clarity that will incentivise AI developers and IP owners to enter into commercial licensing agreements to allow training of AI systems in the UK, while fairly remunerating rights owners.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology is said to have stated that:
“As it stands, the UK’s current regime for copyright and AI is holding back the creative industries, media, and AI sector from realising their full potential—and that cannot continue.
Sony Music, which is led in the UK by industry veteran Jason Iley, indicates that it has invested more than £1 billion in the UK through artist development, marketing, and promotion in the past ten years.
It shared an estimate that the music industry is worth £7.6 billion to the UK economy annually.
The entertainment giant isn’t the only one calling out the UK government.
Other organizations including the UK’s biggest music stars such as Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney, entertainers across the media, music, journalism, and publishing world are also opposed to the government’s plans.
