Table of Contents
In Short
- AI-generated content in the UK may not always be protected under copyright, and fair dealing exceptions could apply.
- Fair dealing allows AI to use copyrighted material for specific purposes, like research or criticism.
- Businesses must be mindful of copyright issues when using AI-generated content and seek legal advice when necessary.
Tips for Businesses
Understand how copyright law applies to AI-generated content and the fair dealing exceptions that might protect its use. If your business creates or uses AI-generated materials, ensure you have legal clarity on what is allowed under UK copyright law. Consult a lawyer to avoid infringement risks.
When you run an eCommerce business in this day and age, you have the advantage of making use of a range of technology. This can help your business activity excel and assist your company’s growth. One type of advanced technology you will have heard of is Artificial Intelligence (AI). This can prove significantly helpful for your brand but must be used in compliance with legal rules such as copyright law. This article will, therefore, explain the fair use doctrine and fair dealing in terms of copyrighted works for AI in business in terms of legal considerations and applications.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology where machines and computers imitate humans. They can do this in the form of humans:
- learning;
- comprehension;
- problem-solving;
- creativity;
- decision-making; and
- autonomy.
An everyday use of AI is in generative AI (gen AI), which is where technology creates content such as:
- original text;
- images; and
- videos.
How Does Copyright Relate to Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
The Copyright, Designs and Patent Act (CDPA) states that the author must be human for a work to be copyrighted in the UK. Therefore, computer-generated artificial intelligence (AI) cannot generate work for copyright protection.
However, according to the Act, the author of AI content is the person who arranged the AI’s operation. Therefore, when generating content for your business, the developer or programmer may own the copyright. However, it is essential to seek legal advice here to be completely clear. Also, any agreements in place and the circumstances of the AI-generated material would affect this.
If there is an issue with potential copyrighted material, such as copyright infringement, this could lie with the person operating and using the AI-generated material. Again, you should seek legal advice.
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What is Fair Use and Fair Dealing?
Despite content produced by Artificial Intelligence (AI) having the potential to infringe copyrighted material, UK copyright law has some exceptions to this. These exceptions are termed ‘fair dealing’. Therefore, AI-generated content may use copyrighted material without infringement in certain circumstances. However, ultimately, it is up to a court to interpret fair dealing. It would help if you took legal advice on this.
The fair dealing categories include the use of:
- research and private study;
- fair and proportionate criticism, review and reporting of current events;
- education, providing when doing so, legal rules are followed, and it is within reasonable times; and
- for fair parody, caricature and practices, providing it does not exploit commercially.
You may have heard of the term ‘fair use’. This is the equivalent of fair dealing in the United States (US). Fair use has much broader expectations than the exceptions in fair dealing.
Why Does My Business Need to Know About Fair Dealing?
There are different reasons why your business should be aware of the rules of fair dealing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the UK. Firstly, you may find your business’s copyright material being used on AI, and you want to know where this is possible and where it may constitute copyright infringement. If you are concerned about copyright infringement, contact an intellectual property (IP) lawyer for advice.
However, there is another reason why you need to know about fair dealing and AI. As an eCommerce firm, you may carry out activities in one of the categories of fair dealing. For example, if you are a publishing company, you may report about current events. For example, you may be a news business, so alert your internet readers to what is happening in their area. Perhaps your eCommerce brand is in the fashion industry and carries out reviews of fashion events.
This fact sheet outlines how your business can manage a dispute.
Key Takeaways
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that can mimic human activity and could be helpful for an eCommerce brand like yours. However, laws apply to the use of AI, such as copyright law. The content produced by AI could be copyrighted, and AI may generate copyrighted content. However, specific material generated by AI may be used even though it is subject to copyright. These exceptions are fair dealing. For example, where is it for educational purposes. For instance, you must know if your copyrighted material has been used in AI-generated material.
If you need help understanding fair use and fair dealing in AI in business in the UK, our experienced eCommerce lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Copyright law is a crucial area of law to be aware of when using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Fair dealing is the exception in using Artificial Intelligence (AI), where you may be able to use copyrighted material.
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