The Ministry of Culture submitted to public consultation last November a project that seeks to allow artificial intelligence companies to use works protected by copyright (such as books, songs, movies, etc.) without having to ask permission directly from each creator. . Instead, they propose a system called “expanded collective licenses,” which would facilitate this widespread use on the condition that companies pay financial compensation. Various groups of artists frontally reject this draft royal decree law.
The main objective of the Ministry is to promote the development of artificial intelligence in Spain and provide technology companies with access to large amounts of data to train their systems. However, artists reject their works being used without their direct consent and fear not receiving fair compensation, among other issues. On the other hand, more than thirty entities that carry out collective copyright management, both in Spain and internationally, defend this project as a “milestone.”
This consensus has been broken with the united voice of organizations of audiovisual creators, translators, dancers, stage directors, illustrators and proofreaders in a joint statement under the motto ‘Not like that’. “The royal decree that the Government intends to approve presents many problems that could have a very negative impact on the sector,” indicates Eva Moraga, spokesperson lawyer for the organizations that signed one of the manifestos against the proposal (Alianza Audiovisual, ACE Traductores , ADE, FADIP, FACED and Union of Correctors). The collective of creative professionals and independent visual artists Arte es Ética, created to achieve ethical regulation of generative AI in Latin America and Spain, has also taken a stand against the law.
“Almost 100% of the AI models that society is using have been trained and developed with artistic and literary works obtained from the Internet without authorization, or transfer of rights or licenses,” Moraga explains to elDiario.es. “The Intellectual Property Law has been breached and we ask for the withdrawal of these illegal AIs, in addition to financial compensation for having used the works without remunerating their authors and legitimate rights holders,” he adds. Furthermore, he values that “the fact that there are licenses is not a sufficient guarantee that the economic value of the works will not be harmed,” nor does it guarantee that “many of the jobs in the artistic and cultural sector will not be affected.” negatively”.
The Intellectual Property Law has been breached and we ask for the withdrawal of these illegal AI, in addition to financial compensation for having used the works without having remunerated their authors and legitimate rights holders.
Eva Moraga
— Lawyer and spokesperson for different professional associations of creators
The signatory organizations against the proposal have already communicated their position to the Government. Moraga reaffirms that “licenses cannot be regulated if previous models are not withdrawn, in addition to financially compensating those who have been harmed.” For this reason, it states that, if the “extended collective licenses” are approved, they would be helping to “whitewash” the “previous activity of these artificial intelligence companies.” The Ministry of Culture has not responded to elDiario.es’ request to expand its point of view regarding the artists’ demands.
Compensation for authors and editors
However, the collective rights management entities AIE, AISGE, DAMA, SEDA, SGAE and VEGAP, as well as thirty associations in the cultural sector and several international organizations, value this project positively, considering it “a key step for the protection of “Creators’ rights in the digital age.” “The royal decree provides a solution that allows all parties involved in the training of AI models to benefit,” Cristina Perpiñá-Robert, general director of the General Society of Authors and Editors (SGAE), tells this newspaper.
Creators, unlike what has happened until now in many cases, will be able to receive fair remuneration for the exploitation of their works and services, and providers of AI models will gain access to broad repertoires, of quality and culturally diverse in a scenario of legal security
Cristina Perpiñá-Robert
— General Director of the SGAE
“Creators, unlike what has happened until now in many cases, will be able to receive fair remuneration for the exploitation of their works and services,” says Perpiñá-Robert. “AI model providers, in turn, will gain access to broad, quality and culturally diverse repertoires, with the added advantage of acting in a scenario of legal certainty,” he adds.
Although they understand that “the pioneering nature of the project, together with the threat that AI poses to intellectual property, may lead some organizations to show some concern about the regulatory initiatives adopted in this area”, the SGAE considers that “ The royal decree will decisively contribute to ensuring that the development of AI models is done in an ethical and responsible manner,” allowing “authors and editors to participate in the economic benefits of these models.”
Some audiovisual creators affiliated with DAMA have complained on social networks about a lack of consultation before establishing a position of the society that manages their rights collectively.
Lawyer Eva Moraga assures that professional organizations are defending “many authors and artists who do not belong to the management entities to which the royal decree gives all the power to set up licenses, determine the amounts to be charged and set the rules. of distribution, without those, who are not members, being able to intervene in this entire process even though their works are going to be used when the licenses are granted.
Conflict of rights
The company OpenAI, developer of ChatGPT, received its first setback in Europe a few days ago, being fined 15 million euros by Italy for violating personal data. It marked its first economic sanction in the European Union. “We do not understand why action is taken against the violation of people’s data protection and privacy rights, but not against the violation of copyright and intellectual property rights,” says Eva Moraga.
If this measure is approved, it is evidently a gift to the large technology companies in the sector and a stab at the workers.
Hector Martinez
— Spokesperson for CGT Catalunya
Demanding Minister Ernest Urtasun stop a project that “expropriates the copyright of the entire country” and breaks the current social contract, the General Confederation of Labor of Catalonia (CGT Catalunya) has also spoken out against the project. “They intend to legalize what is a robbery,” says their spokesperson Héctor Martínez to elDiario.es. “If this measure is approved, it is obviously a gift to the large technology companies in the sector and a stab at the workers,” he says. “If they are looking to be pioneers, they should say no to companies that want to use someone’s data or work without asking permission. That would be innovative,” Martínez emphasizes.
The accelerated advancement of AI
Artificial intelligence is advancing by leaps and bounds and there is no area that is left out of its influence. From creating hyper-realistic images to music production, AI models are redefining the boundaries of what we consider human and creative. This impact has reached the heart of culture, giving rise to complex debates about ownership, rights and the future of art in the digital age.
An example of this phenomenon was the recent case of Las Nenas, a fictional group whose songs, generated by artificial intelligence, made their listeners believe that there were real artists behind the songs. Something like this could not have been achieved without AI models capable of replicating and learning at the expense of artistic works made by humans, which highlights the possibilities of these new technologies and the dilemmas they bring with them in the cultural field, where authenticity and Copyrights are being challenged like never before.
The jurist Moraga warns that this conflict does not only affect the creators but “the entire society.” Furthermore, he suggests that the debate should be more “deep” and cover “the implications of artificial intelligence, where we are going and what role will remain for the human being as it evolves and advances.”
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