More about AI law in the EU

Last Friday marked a new milestone in the work towards a law on artificial intelligence in Europe. The 27 EU member states voted unanimously in the important COREPER committee for a provisional agreement, a proposal for a new EU law that will regulate artificial intelligence. – Important milestone in establishing a more sustainable future for music creators, states Inger Elise Mey at TONO. 
 

  / 05/02/2024 /

The legal text will now proceed to further consideration in the EU system, leading to a final decision in the European Parliament, which is likely to be made in mid-May or early June. The law will then enter into force 12 months later.

– The law that will regulate artificial intelligence will have enormous significance for the world's artists, musicians, authors, music publishers and the music industry in general, says Inger Elise Mey at TONO.

Mey is TONO's Director of International Affairs, and is involved in working on legal issues in GESAC and CISAC. Now she hopes that further work in the EU system until the summer will proceed without obstacles:

– It is crucial that clear rules are now established that ensure respect for copyright and that require transparency of AI services. This is about creating a sustainable future for human creators in the face of new technology.  

Further process in the EU 

The provisional agreement on the AI ​​law now goes to the European Parliament for approval, with a vote scheduled for 13 February and then a plenary vote in March or April. Once all these necessary steps have been taken, the law is expected to enter into force around early June or mid-May, depending on the outcome of the plenary vote.

This means that the rules applicable to general artificial intelligence models will become valid 12 months after the law enters into force. The Commission has already started work on a new AI office and is expected to have prepared the necessary documents to implement the rules related to AI models within 9 months of entry into force. 

Three key points in the EU law on artificial intelligence

In the text that is now available, there are three points that are worth noting:  

  1. Respect for rights: The law requires AI companies to comply with EU copyright law. Illegal use of music to train AI models must be stopped, and permission from rights holders and creators must be obtained.
  1. Transparency commitments: AI companies must be open about what kind of music they have used in training models or generating new AI music. This ensures a fair interaction between technology and creative creation.
  1. Global impact: When generative AI productions reach the EU market, it must be documented what content was used for training, regardless of where in the world the training took place. This creates an international standard for handling AI in the music industry.

This text is written based on information TONO has received from GESAC, as well as this press release from ICMP: https://icmpmusic.com/news/icmp-press-release-eu-governments-back-artificial-intelligence-deal 

 See also:
LinkedIn post from GESAC 

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cisac_artificial-intelligence-act-council-and-activity-7159238082574098432-NWkM/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios 

Press release from the EU: 

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/12/09/artificial-intelligence-act-council-and-parliament-strike-a-deal-on-the-first-worldwide-rules-for-ai/