Copyright forgotten in the AI ​​euphoria:

– Urgent need for regulation of AI

– Rights holders have not been invited to the AI ​​party. There is a desperate need to secure the rights of music creators and other artists in the AI-driven technological revolution we are in the midst of, says CEO of TONO, Karl Vestli.

 / 29/08/2023 /

13 international umbrella organizations for artists, music creators, writers, photographers, etc. are now calling on political decision-makers around the world to quickly establish clear frameworks to protect human creativity and artists' rights in the face of the development and use of artificial intelligence. The organizations have launched 7 principles for regulating artificial intelligence (see below).

– Music creators and other artists have always been innovators. They are always among the first to adopt new technology, and are in no way opposed to innovation. As of today, however, creators and copyright are the losers in the AI ​​euphoria. Tech companies are building their technology and services on copyrighted content. The artists have not been asked for permission, they are not paid and in practice they have few opportunities to object to the training of artificial intelligence. The services are built on massive copyright infringements, says Vestli.    

Artists must participate in developing AI rules

The EU is working on “The AI ​​Act”, a directive for artificial intelligence. This will not be ready until 2025 at the earliest. National authorities around the world, including in Norway, are also working on issues related to artificial intelligence. With the open letter from a whole world of artists, the organizations, including TONO, demand that this work be prioritized. They demand, not least, that copyright be made central to the work and that the artists be involved.

– The cultural and creative sector, including the music creators that TONO represents, must have a seat at the table when new frameworks are established. TONO does not want to stop the development of artificial intelligence. We want to restore an imbalance that threatens music creators, and which can also hinder human creativity and as such prevent the best possible utilization of artificial intelligence as a tool. We invite Norwegian politicians to get involved, as a collective representative of 40,000 Norwegian music creators and several millions from other countries. We want to contribute with our expertise and insight so that this area is regulated in the best possible way, says Vestli.

Seven principles for developing new AI policy

The open letter from the artists' umbrella organizations calls on governments and policymakers around the world to commit to developing and adopting policies and legislation in line with seven principles.

  1. The permission principle
    AI companies must, under ordinary copyright principles, request permission to use musical and other artistic works before exploiting them. The creators must be able to allow, restrict or prohibit use. They must also be compensated when works are exploited.
  2. The licensing principle  
    All AI systems will need to use licensing solutions for all uses of copyrighted works, performances and data. This will facilitate open exchange between the companies that need content, and the creators and performers who want to understand how and to what extent their works will be used.
  1. The exception principle
    Copyright exceptions that allow AI systems to exploit copyrighted content must be avoided. This includes Text and Data Mining. Some existing exceptions should be clarified to provide legal clarity for creators and performers, as well as for AI systems that wish to benefit from such data.
  1. The crediting principle
    Creators and performers should be recognized and credited when their works and performances are exploited by AI systems.
  1. The principle of openness
    Legal requirements must be established for the disclosure of information on the use of creative works/performances in a way that allows for traceability and licensing, as well as identification of works and performances generated by AI systems. This will ensure fair governance for creators, performers and users of creative content.
  1. The principle of responsibility
    Legal requirements must be established for AI companies to retain relevant documentation, and they must be held accountable for activities and results that infringe the rights of creators, performers, and rights holders.
  1. The AI ​​as a tool principle
    It is important that AI models are defined as, and considered as, a tool to serve human creativity. Fully autonomous AI-generated works cannot have the same level of protection as works created by humans.

The organizations behind the open letter to the world's policymakers:
AEPO-ARTIS, ALCAM, AMA, APMA, BIEM, CIAGP, CIAM, CISAC, ECSA, EVA, IMPF, MCNA and SCAPR. The organizations represent a total of 6 million creators in various fields: Composers, lyricists, songwriters, music publishers, musicians, photographers, visual artists, playwrights and artistic performers. 

About TONO

TONO was founded in 1928 and is a non-profit cooperative owned and managed by composers, lyricists and music publishers, and which manages the economic copyrights in their musical works. TONO grants permission for the use of protected music on radio, TV, the internet, concerts, cinema, etc. for a fee, and transfers its financial results each year to the rights holders of music that has been performed publicly. TONO has more than 40,000 members, but also works for millions of authors and music publishers from around the world. TONO gives music creators an economic basis to create new music, and collects and simplifies the licensing of protected music to music users. TONO had a turnover of NOK 864,6 million in 2022.

For more information:

Karl Vestli, CEO of TONO, mob. 932 56 020, karl.vestli (a) tono.no
Willy Martinsen, Communications Director at TONO, mobile 909 65 254, willy.martinsen (a) tono.no