The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee has published a report on British film and high-end TV which includes several conclusions and recommendations which will be of interest to tech lawyers.
The Committee has considered how the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools might transform the industry. For AI to be a positive force in film and HETV, the government must strengthen the copyright framework by requiring licensing of creative works in all cases where they are used to train AI models. It also says that the government must also protect our screen heritage. Screen archives face barriers to connecting the public with the UK’s filmmaking culture, and the Committee recommends the government explore a statutory deposit scheme for the moving image, minor changes to copyright legislation and the introduction of a national screen heritage strategy to put archives on a stronger footing.
HETV
The Committee says that the success of the UK’s HETV sector relies on continuing to attract inward investment while maintaining a vibrant domestic industry underpinned by strong intellectual property rights. Yet the dynamic between independent producers and subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) platforms is not sustainable, and successful production companies are being damaged by deals that deny them the ability to fully monetise their IP. While the differences in business models mean it may not be appropriate to extend the existing terms of trade as they stand for public service broadcasters to streamers, similar mechanisms must be considered. As a result, the Committee recommends the government immediately commissions research on how regulatory measures could be applied to SVoD platforms to ensure that independent production companies developing IP in the UK maintain a minimum level of ownership over those rights.
AI
Industry guidelines based around protecting human creativity in the use of generative AI are welcome, but the film and TV sectors are calling out for help to embrace the growth potential of generative AI in a way that is fair, responsible and legally compliant.
The Committee says that at the next Spending Review, the government should fund the British Film Institute’s development of an AI observatory and tech demonstrator hub to enable it to provide effective leadership around the industry’s use of AI.
The government’s AI Sector Champion for the creative industries, once appointed, should work with the industry to develop an AI certification scheme for the ethical use of generative AI in film and HETV. In setting out guidelines for the responsible use of generative AI, the scheme should consider the interests of copyright holders, creative workers and audiences. To ensure compliance and protect the industry from irresponsible use of AI tools, the government should mandate certification for UK-based broadcasters or productions claiming tax incentives and National Lottery funding.
Proposed “opt out” regime and copyright reform
Getting the balance between AI development and copyright wrong will undermine the growth of the UK’s film and HETV sectors, and wider creative industries. The Committee says that proceeding with an ‘opt-out’ regime stands to damage the UK’s reputation among inward investors. The government should abandon its preference for a data mining exception for AI training with rights reservation model, and instead require AI developers to license any copyrighted works before using them to train their AI models. Although the film and HETV industry may be motivated to protect performers’ interests, with the history of collective bargaining agreements equipping it do so, that situation is not common across all the creative industries. The UK’s patchwork of copyright, intellectual property and data protection legislation is failing to protect performers from the nefarious use of generative AI technologies, such as unauthorised voice cloning and deepfakes. The government should legislate to prevent historical contract waivers from being interpreted to allow the use of recorded performances by AI tools.
Within the next six months the government should also conduct a review of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the UK’s GDPR framework to consider whether further legislation is needed to prevent unlicensed use of data for AI purposes.
The Committee has also repeated its predecessor Committee’s calls for the government to implement the Beijing Treaty within the next six months, including extending unwaivable moral rights to audiovisual performances. The Government should introduce targeted copyright exemptions that allow for greater access to archive material without harming copyright holders. Those include adjusting legislation concerning ‘dedicated terminals’, broadening the definition of ‘educational establishments’, amending the ‘2039’ rule, and introducing exemptions for orphan works and commercially unavailable works.
