UK Acting Union Equity is urging the Intellectual Property minister to abandon catastrophic data mining exemption. Here’s what they have to say:
05 October 2022
Equity’s Audio Committee have written to Dean Russell MP, the newly appointed Minister for Enterprise and Markets responsible for intellectual property.
The Committee have urged the new Minister to abandon the government’s proposed data mining exemption which was announced earlier in the year. They have warned that this exemption could have catastrophic implications for UK based performers and their professional work if implemented. For example, it could mean that any video or sound recording that is publicly available could to be mined for free by third parties without the consent of the copyright owner to generate new AI content.
The Committee highlighted Equity’s campaign Stop AI Stealing the Show, which seeks to strengthen performers’ rights in response to rapid development of Artificial Intelligence. They also highlighted our submission to the government’s recent consultation on their plans for regulating AI.
Read the letter in full below
Dean Russell MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Enterprise and Markets)
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
1 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0ET
04 October 2022
Dear Minister,
We are writing as representatives of Equity’s Audio Committee which advises the union on professional matters relevant to audio artists. We would like to congratulate you on your recent appointment as Minister for Enterprise and Markets. Your new portfolio responsibility for intellectual property is hugely important and has the power to safeguard the future of the creative workforce, which is the driving force behind an industry that accounts for 7% of all UK jobs and contributes £116bn to the economy annually.
As you will know, the use of Artificial Intelligence is advancing significantly and can be found in nearly every sector of the economy, which includes the performing arts and entertainment industry. This is transforming the labour market as well as the production and publication of audio and audio-visual content. However, as highlighted by Equity’s campaign Stop AI Stealing the Show, the existing intellectual property framework has not kept pace with technological development and does not provide audio artists and other UK-based performers with the legal protections they need to control the exploitation of their image, voice and likeness.
We are very concerned to see the government’s pro-innovation approach for regulating AI actively prioritise the interest of technology companies at what would appear to be the detriment of the interest of the creative workforce. This includes the proposed data mining exemption, which has potentially catastrophic implications for UK based performers and their professional work if implemented.
Expanding the exception to any purpose and not allowing rights holders to opt-out will have potentially devastating consequences for the creative industry and its workforce. In practice, this could mean that any video or sound recording that is publicly available could be mined for free by third parties without the consent of the copyright owner to generate new AI content. We are particularly concerned that the data mining exception will facilitate, if not encourage, infringing or inappropriate use of protected performances, at scale by fostering a “free for all” culture towards mining IP-protected content. Performers will be particularly vulnerable to exploitation as they have less control over how their work is distributed and often cannot remove their performance from the internet or have it protected in sites which require lawful access. I have attached Equity’s submission to the recent government consultation on establishing a pro-innovation approach to regulating AI, which explores this topic in more detail.
We strongly urge you as the new Minister to abandon the proposed data mining exemption or at the very least specify in the legislation that it does not include data of an individual’s image, voice or likeness. We would also welcome the opportunity to work with your Department to develop a new suit of intellectual property rights for performers, including synthesised performance rights, moral rights, and image rights. Failure to implement these measures will damage our world leading creative industry. The government’s current policy approach also risks facilitating dystopian consequences not only for UK performers but also for society as a whole.
It would be fantastic to arrange a meeting with you in the coming weeks and we can be flexible around your diary. We would like to discuss how we can work together to strengthen our intellectual property framework and adopt a more balanced policy approach that champions the interests of the creative workforce and innovation that is used ethically and responsibly.
Yours sincerely,
Equity Audio Committee
Louise Barrett
Marcus Hutton
Cameron McGarva
Sheila Mitchell
Dan Richards
Annette Rizzo
Liza Ross
Medina Ashabi Ajikawo
David Menkin
