TO BE PUBLISHED January 2027
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This conference will examine next steps for AI and copyright in the UK, as licensing markets develop and the Government considers its options following its change of position on a broad exception for AI training. Areas for discussion include licensing and remuneration for the use of copyright material, transparency about its use by AI developers, the exercise and enforcement of rights, and developing approaches to AI-generated content labelling, digital replicas and computer-generated works.
It will bring together policymakers and stakeholders from across the creative and technology sectors as the Government takes forward further evidence-gathering on copyright reform and work on transparency, creator control and licensing set out in its March 2026 report.
With the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee calling for a licensing-first approach, statutory transparency requirements for major AI developers and stronger protection against unauthorised digital replicas, delegates will assess whether the market-led licensing and industry best practice favoured in the Government's response can address these issues. We expect discussion on what can be achieved through existing law, commercial arrangements and technical measures, where further intervention may be required, and the implications for creators, rights holders, AI developers and businesses using AI.
Options will be assessed for the terms on which copyright material can be made available for AI development and other uses, as well as how licensing arrangements can operate across different types of content and rights holders. Delegates will consider the development of direct and collective licensing, the practicalities of identifying rights and agreeing payment, and the position of individual creators and smaller businesses. The agenda will also look at what can be learned from existing agreements and initiatives such as the Creative Content Exchange, alongside questions about access to content, commercial certainty and the reach of UK arrangements where AI systems are developed overseas.
Further sessions will consider the Government's work on labelling AI-generated content and digital replicas, together with its proposed removal of the existing copyright protection for wholly computer-generated works. Attendees will assess the effectiveness of technical and legal safeguards, questions of consent, authorship and originality, and implications for creative practice, investment and AI adoption across the creative industries.
AI licensing markets, permissions & remuneration
Discussion will examine how licensing arrangements are developing across different types of content and AI use, and the commercial and practical requirements for a market in which both content owners and those seeking lawful access can participate effectively.
Areas for discussion include:
- licensing models: direct and collective licensing - AI training and fine-tuning - AI-generated search and retrieval-based services - sector-specific and cross-sector arrangements
- permissions & remuneration: identifying and clearing rights - valuation and pricing - usage measurement - standardised terms and contracts - payment and distribution of revenue
- market participation:
- individual creators, independent publishers and smaller rights holders - archives and collections
- collective management organisations - bargaining power and access to licensing opportunities
- market infrastructure: rights registries and metadata - automated and scalable licensing - content and data marketplaces - progress and lessons from the Creative Content Exchange pilot
- commercial arrangements: transaction costs - reporting and auditability - commercial confidentiality - governance and dispute resolution - competition considerations
- future development: market confidence for developers and rights holders - cross-border licensing and interoperability - evidence of gaps in provision - potential need for further intervention
AI-generated content labelling, provenance & digital replicas
Sessions will consider approaches to identifying content produced using AI and the separate questions of consent and protection where technology is used to reproduce a person's voice, image or likeness. Delegates will assess the scope for industry standards and existing legal protections, and where further measures may be needed.
Areas for discussion include:
- AI content labelling: identifying wholly AI-generated and AI-assisted content - visible and machine-readable labels - differences between media types - proportionality and practical application
- provenance & attribution:
- content credentials and metadata - establishing the origin and history of material
- preservation of information through publication and distribution - reliability of technical approaches
- digital replicas: commercial and creative uses of voice, image and likeness - consent and authorisation - contractual arrangements and remuneration - implications for performers and creators
- legal protections: unauthorised imitation and false endorsement - existing rights and remedies - potential additional protections - legitimate creative uses and freedom of expression
- implementation:
- responsibilities of AI developers, platforms, publishers and content producers
- interoperability and common standards - limitations of detection and labelling tools - costs and implications for public confidence
Authorship, originality & computer-generated works
With the Government having proposed removing the existing specific copyright protection for wholly computer-generated works, citing limited evidence of its value, sessions will consider the implications of this approach and how established principles of authorship and originality apply where human creative input is combined with AI.
Areas for discussion include:
- human contribution: distinctions between AI-assisted and wholly computer-generated works - prompts and iterative direction - selection, arrangement, editing and post-production
- authorship & originality: identifying human creative contribution - thresholds for copyright protection - evidencing authorship and originality - application of existing legal tests
- ownership & attribution: rights in AI-assisted outputs - commissioning and employment arrangements - contractual allocation of ownership - attribution and licensing of outputs
- future protection:
- retaining, reforming or removing specific protection for computer-generated works
- implications for creators, developers and businesses - incentives for investment and creative production
- infringement & use: similarity to existing works - derivative uses - questions of responsibility and liability - implications for commercial exploitation
- international approaches: treatment of AI-assisted and computer-generated works in other jurisdictions - legal certainty for content and services operating across borders
Transparency, creator control & copyright enforcement
Discussion will examine the practicalities of exercising and enforcing copyright in relation to AI, including the information available to rights holders about the use of their material, the effectiveness of technical measures and enforcement arrangements, and where further measures may be needed.
Areas for discussion include:
- training-data transparency:
- information about material used in AI development - dataset disclosure and reporting
- record-keeping and auditability - access to evidence - commercial confidentiality
- creator control:
- machine-readable permissions and rights reservation - rights-management information
- technical restrictions on access and use - effectiveness, interoperability and circumvention
- responsibilities: roles of AI developers, data suppliers, platforms and rights holders - compliance monitoring and reporting - compliance by design - implementation costs and proportionality
- enforcement & redress: establishing use and potential infringement - evidential requirements and burden of proof - complaints and dispute resolution - available remedies
- access to enforcement: practical routes for individual creators and smaller rights holders - costs of pursuing claims - access to information and legal support
- cross-border application: overseas-developed AI systems used in the UK - territorial enforcement - international standards and regulatory coordination - implications for future UK policy
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include parliamentary pass-holders from the House of Commons and officials from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade; Department for Education; Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; Department for the Economy, NI; HM Revenue and Customs; Intellectual Property Office; Regulatory Policy Committee; and the Welsh Government.
