Press release - Creative sectors need less good sentiments and more enforcement against generative AI

The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) notes the adoption of the non-legislative report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and copyright by the European Parliament today.

The report recognises a truth that our sector had to live with since the rise of generative AI: AI developers built their business model on the massive theft of copyright-protected content and the complete disregard of European copyright law, while their AI-generated output unfairly competes with real creative content.

Court cases in the US have shown that AI developers consider books to be the single most important training data to build their generative AIs and chose to supply their needs through illegal sources rather than publishers. Book publishers have also faced a flood of “fake books”, AI-generated text that do not disclose their nature to consumers, that have overtaken the market on online sellers of books.

This original sin is compounded by the systemic lack of transparency that unfortunately the AI Act has done little to stop, due to insufficient transparency requirements and a lack of enforcement. The report rightfully calls for a reinforcement of the transparency regime, which is a precondition for any licensing or enforcement to take place.

While there is room for an AI licensing market, the report underlines that exclusive rights of rightsholders must be respected, including when they refuse to licence, and that there can’t be a one-size fit all or mandatory licensing model.

To complete the current legislative framework, the report proposes complementary measures to support enforcement, including a presumption of use that would be triggered whenever an AI company fails to be transparent on its training data. Further measures might need to be explored, such as statutory damages against mass copyright infringers or new obligations on online platforms that facilitate the training of AI or the sale of AI-generated output.

Sonia Draga, President of FEP, declared “It is now impossible for anyone to say ‘we didn’t know’ when confronted with the havoc generative AI developers have caused for the creative sectors. It is now time for the European Commission and Member States to actually enforce the law and to give us publishers the tools to enforce our rights against actors that have repeatedly demonstrated their bad faith and unwillingness to play by Europe’s rules.”

FEP is an independent, non-commercial umbrella association of book publishers’ associations in Europe. FEP represents 31 national associations of publishers of books, learned journals and educational materials, in all formats, in Europe. FEP is the voice of the great majority of publishers in Europe.

For more information contact:

Quentin Deschandelliers, FEP Legal Advisor
qdeschandelliers(a)fep-fee.eu
+32 2 776 84 63

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