The Creators’ Rights Alliance (CRA), a coalition representing over 500,000 professional creators in the UK’s creative industries, has issued a letter to AI developers addressing the unauthorized use of copyrighted works in AI model training.

In the letter, the CRA explicitly states that its members do not authorize the use of their copyrighted works for AI training, development, or operation without specific licensing arrangements. 

This declaration serves as an opt-out under Article 4 of the EU’s DSM Copyright Directive while also putting AI companies on notice in the UK and other jurisdictions.

The alliance acknowledges the potential benefits of generative AI but expresses concern over the “vast amount” of copyrighted material being used without proper authorization. 

Citing a recent House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee report, the CRA highlights three key points:

1. AI developers should not use copyrighted works without permission or compensation.
2. Licenses should be obtained from rightsholders.
3. There should be greater transparency for rightsholders.

The Seven Demands

The CRA’s letter outlines seven specific demands for AI developers:

1. Provide complete transparency about works used in model development.
2. Make detailed requests for future use of works.
3. Obtain advance authorization from creators and rightsholders.
4. Offer appropriate remuneration for past and future uses.
5. Give proper attribution to all creators in all cases.
6. Engage in good faith licensing negotiations to address past practices.
7. Respect creators’ right to withhold consent on ethical or economic grounds.

“Creators are innovators, and they are keen to use AI tools but need trusted systems that do not have the potential to infringe on the rights of human creations or their styles and personalities,” CRA Chair Nicola Solomon said in a statement.

AI and Intellectual Property

The CRA’s stance reflects growing concerns in the creative community about AI’s impact on intellectual property rights.

A recent investigation revealed that major tech companies have used content from thousands of YouTube videos to train AI models without the creators’ knowledge or consent. 

Subtitles from 173,536 YouTube videos, sourced from over 48,000 channels, were utilized by prominent tech firms, including Anthropic, Nvidia, Apple, and Salesforce. 

In recent months, several major news organizations, such as The New York Times, The Financial Times, and The Atlantic, have blocked Apple from collecting data for AI training.

The Influencer Marketing Factory’s May report showed that 36% of surveyed Americans demand transparency from AI influencers, believing they should disclose their non-human nature in their social media profiles and bios.