As we enter a new year, we would like to take this opportunity to pass on our best wishes for 2025 to all of our readers, as well as reflect on developments in copyright over the past year. Last year was another busy one in the copyright world, with an increasing focus on the relationship…

In a recent chapter, Ryan Abbott and Elizabeth Rothman present the utilitarian argument for granting copyright in AI-generated works (hereafter AIGW). Aspects of their argument also find expression in the recently launched UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) consultation on AI.  In response, this post outlines my scepticism. The utilitarian arguments supporting copyright in AIGW are…

Now that 2024 is behind us, it’s time to report on the fourth trimester. Here is our final roundup of that AI-rich year. This post marks the fourth year of running this series on our blog. In it, we provide updates on key developments in EU copyright law from October to December 2024, covering everything…

Being an academic is a vocation. We are not in it for the money (hopefully), but mostly (hopefully) for the impact that we can make on our students’ and colleagues’ lives, as well as to contribute to the process of healthy law and policy-making. It is a job with lots of responsibility, joys, surprises and…

The European AI Office is currently facilitating the drawing-up of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice (the “Code”). The European Commission published the first draft of the Code on 14 November 2024. Further drafts are to be prepared, with the final version of the Code forecast to be released by 2 May 2025, in accordance…

A few weeks ago, the Spanish Ministry of Culture released a legislative proposal aimed at introducing extended collective licensing (ECL) for the development of general-purpose AI models. The first of its kind, the “Draft Royal Decree to regulate the granting of extended collective licenses for the massive exploitation of works and other subject matter protected…

As the discussion on AI regulation is intensifying around the globe, the Australian Government’s Department for Industry, Science and Resources has recently announced Safe and responsible AI in Australia: Proposals paper for introducing mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings.  The Proposals Paper is strongly influenced by the EU AI Act, which is cited on…

Introduction The interaction between the AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689) and the exceptions for text and data mining (TDM) in the CDSM Directive is one of the most important topics in EU copyright law today. One particularly controversial point of intersection is the AI Act’s attempt, through recital 106, to give extraterritorial effect to its copyright-related…

In the first part of this post on the Kneschke vs. LAION decision by the German Hamburg Regional Court (“Court”), we explored the Court’s key findings regarding the operational step in a generative AI model, and the decision on the exceptions for scientific research text and data mining (“TDM”) and temporary reproductions. Now, in this…

On September 27, 2024, the German Hamburg Regional Court (“Court”) issued the first ruling on reproductions of copyrighted content from the Internet made during the creation of an AI training data set – and on whether the copyright exceptions for text and data mining (“TDM”) provide statutory permission for such use (Landgericht Hamburg, 310 O…