A broad coalition of groups representing European writers, performers, producers and publishers issued a joint statement on Wednesday, warning that Europe’s AI Act is not properly protecting copyrights.
In a joint statement, groups, including those representing European actors, writers, journalists, film producers, musicians, translators, and visual artists, took aim at the implementation of the act, which was passed last year and hailed as the world’s first and most far-reaching government regulation of artificial intelligence technology.
Under the act from Aug. 2 of this year, providers of general purpose AI models (GPAI), such as ChatGTP, Deep Seek, and Dall-E have to comply with European copyright law in their use of copyright-protected materials in training their AI systems and provide “fair and appropriate” remuneration for copyright owners.
Rightholder groups were consulted throughout the drafting of the AI Act, but say now that the way the law is being implemented does not sufficiently protect artists and puts Europe’s creative industries at risk.
“The final outcomes fail to address the core concerns which our sectors – and the millions of creators and companies active in Europe which we represent – have consistently raised,” the coalition said in its statement. “The result is not a balanced compromise; it is a missed opportunity to provide meaningful protection of intellectual property rights.”
Without effective protection, they argue, AI systems, which are already scraping copyright-protected material en masse to train their models, will be able to continue doing so, without proper consultation or compensation for the artists who created the original works.
“Today, with the EU AI Act implementing package as it stands, thriving cultural and creative sectors and copyright intensive industries in Europe which contribute nearly 7 percent of EU GDP, provide employment for nearly 17 million professionals and have an economic contribution larger than European pharmaceutical, automobile or high-tech industries, are being sold out in favor of those GenAI model providers,” the coalition said in its statement.
The coalition is asking for the European Commission to revisit its implementation of the AI Act to ensure the law ” lives up to its promise to safeguard European intellectual property rights in the age of generative AI.”
The U.S. government, which just announced a massive trade deal with the European Union, has been sharply critical of the bloc’s AI Act. At an AI summit in Paris in February, US Vice President JD Vance railed against what he called the “excessive regulation” of artificial intelligence by the EU, which he claimed was “tightening the screws” on US tech companies.