The Creators’ Rights Alliance has written to companies involved in software development, including those involved in research, experimental development, and professional, scientific, and technical fields.

The letter, sent to Microsoft, Google, OPENAI, Apple, Meta and many others, reiterates that Creators’ Rights Alliance members and the 500,000 creators they represent do not authorize the use of their works protected by copyright and/or related rights (including ancillary rights) for the training, development or operation of AI models, including large language models, or other AI products, unless they have entered into explicit licensing agreements with the creators and rights holders to do so.

The letter states that creators’ data is regularly taken without their permission and used to train artificial intelligence, which is already affecting their income and their ability to continue working.

People whose works have been unlawfully used by technology companies to train AI models include writers, performers, and artists without the consent or compensation of the creators or rights holders. Other copyright infringement occurs when people assume that the software created by technology companies contains licenses and use them to create new works.

65% of respondents to a Writers Guild of Great Britain survey said they believe increased use of AI will reduce their income from writing, while 61% fear AI could replace jobs in their craft. This comes on top of an early impact assessment from Open AI, which found that the risk of exposure for poets, lyricists and creative writers is among the highest at 68.8%. And a report from KPMG, Generative AI and the UK Labour Market, estimates that 43% of tasks associated with authors, writers and translators could be automated by having humans optimise machine performance.

The Creators’ Rights Alliance proposes a set of rules that would enable the use of licensed works for AI, thus providing benefits to creators, users and software developers.

1. Ensure full transparency about the work used to develop their model;
2. to make detailed requests for the works they wish to use in the future;
3. Obtain the (prior) permission of the relevant author and rights holder and, when a rights holder licenses a catalogue of works, obtain assurances that the authors of those works have expressly consented to the licence agreement.
4. To offer fair remuneration for all uses – past and future;
5. All authors involved in the work must be given appropriate credit in all cases;
6. to engage in good faith in licensing negotiations to correct past bad practices, to remove from their systems all copyrighted works (including but not limited to literature, images, music and performances) used without authorization (records and programs) and to provide evidence of such removal;
7. Respect the fact that there may be cases in which authors and/or their representatives decide, for ethical and/or economic reasons, to refuse to give their consent to the use of their work.

The CRA recommends that all creators turn to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court to combat copyright infringement, particularly the Small Claims Procedure, which is designed to assist individual creators who own their own small business.

Nicola Solomon, chair of the Creators’ Rights Alliance, said: “Creative artists are innovators. They are keen to use AI tools, but need trustworthy systems that do not have the potential to infringe the rights of human creations or their style and personality. Creatives must be consulted, give their consent and be remunerated when their work is used to develop AI models. If we work together, we can create high-quality, robust systems that enhance the work of human creators and reward their creativity.”

Artist and DACS member Adelaide Damoah said: “It is time to set a global standard to protect artists and their work. The recent landmark EU legislation is a good start for Europe. The way forward for the UK is clear: we must quickly take action that protects artists’ rights by enshrining transparency rules in law, in step with the rapid development of AI.”

Further solutions proposed by the CRA

The Creators Rights Alliance urges the new Labour Government to support the development of the Smart Fund and implement the recommendations set out in the Creator Remuneration Report published by the House of Commons Select Committee in April 2024. These include recommending that the Government:

• Ensure that creators have appropriate mechanisms to enforce their consent and receive fair remuneration for the use of their work by AI developers. Measurable targets should be set for the duration of the collaboration with the AI ​​and rights holder sectors.

CRA’s Pay the Creator and Fair Terms for Creators campaigns address the imbalance in bargaining power between creators and those who exploit their works. In particular, the Fair Terms for Creators campaign sets out seven “CREATOR” principles.

The CRA will continue to seek ways to protect creators’ rights by working closely with government agencies, including the Intellectual Property Office, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the Department for Science Innovation and Technology.

Pippa Considine

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