Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether existing UK copyright law can be effectively applied to the use of copyright works in AI training in the absence of mandatory transparency obligations.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises that greater transparency about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help right holders enforce their rights.
The Government published a report and impact assessment on AI and copyright on 18 March. It outlines the views it has received on input transparency following its consultation and commits to work with industry and experts to develop best practice.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to Copyright and Artificial Intelligence: Impact Assessment, published on 18 March, what plans they have to collect further evidence before reaching a policy decision on the preferred option for the use of copyright works in AI development; and when they expect to introduce legislative proposals for that option.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We will not introduce reforms to copyright law until we are confident that they will meet our objectives for the economy and UK citizens. This means protecting the UK’s position as a creative powerhouse, while unlocking the extraordinary potential of AI to grow the economy and improve lives.
On 18 March, we published our impact assessment on copyright and AI. This emphasised the limited and uncertain evidence on the impact of copyright on the development and deployment of AI in the UK. We have committed to address the evidence gaps and review our approach considering wider market and international developments.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to Copyright and Artificial Intelligence: Impact Report, published on 18 March, what measures they plan to introduce, including low-cost dispute resolution, collective enforcement or regulatory remedies, to ensure creative industry micro-businesses are able to protect their rights.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is determined to protect the UK’s position as a world-leading creative powerhouse and unlock the extraordinary potential of AI to grow the economy and improve British lives. In March, we published a report and impact assessment, fulfilling the commitments made in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
The Government proposed a programme of further work to consider ways of enforcing requirements and restrictions relating to the use of copyright works to develop AI systems. This work will include considering the likely effect of any proposals that are made on copyright owners, developers and users who are individuals, SMEs and micro businesses (including individual creators) with fewer resources.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the publication on 18 March of Copyright and Artificial Intelligence: Impact Assessment that does not establish a preferred option fully discharges their obligations under section 135 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025; and if not, what further steps they are required to take under that section of the Act.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Section 135 required the Secretary of State to prepare and publish an assessment of the economic impact in the United Kingdom of each of the four policy options that were consulted on in relation to copyright law and the training of artificial intelligence models using copyright works. The impact assessment published on 18 March assessed the potential impact of each of those four options.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce mandatory transparency requirements on AI developers regarding training data that are independent of text and data mining exceptions; if so, what legislative procedure they plan to use; and to what timetable.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Information about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help developers demonstrate their compliance with copyright law and help right holders enforce their rights. Currently, developers take a varied approach to transparency, though requirements in other countries are beginning to support greater consistency.
On March 18, we published a report and Impact Assessment on AI and copyright, as required under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. As part of this, we committed to a programme of work to help right holders control and license their work. This will include working with a range of industry and other experts to develop best practice on input transparency.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the introduction of requirements for developers of generative AI systems available in the UK to publish information about training data sources.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Information about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help developers demonstrate their compliance with copyright law and help right holders enforce their rights. Currently, developers take a varied approach to transparency, though requirements in other countries are beginning to support greater consistency.
On March 18, we published a report and Impact Assessment on AI and copyright, as required under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. As part of this, we committed to a programme of work to help right holders control and license their work. This will include working with a range of industry and other experts to develop best practice on input transparency.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce statutory transparency obligations requiring AI developers to maintain and disclose records of copyright works used in training models; and if so, whether those obligations are being considered independently of any copyright exemption.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government will publish a report on the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems by 18 March. This report will consider the policy options set out in the government’s consultation on copyright and AI, set out the evidence and views we have gathered and outline our next steps in areas such as transparency.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what economic impact assessment they have undertaken, or commissioned, regarding the effect of a copyright exemption for AI training on (1) the creative industries, (2) licensing markets for training data, and (3) investment in AI development in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government will publish an economic impact assessment by 18 March, as per Section 135 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
This will assess the impact of each of the policy options described in the consultation on copyright and AI, on copyright owners, and persons who develop or use AI systems.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of international approaches to copyright and AI training, including in the European Union and United States of America; and whether they have made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to UK copyright law on the UK's competitive position in AI and the creative industries.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government has engaged bilaterally with many jurisdictions, such as the EU and the US, to discuss approaches to copyright and AI policy, share best practice and consider technical issues.
The government continues to seek views on how best to meet the UK’s objectives on AI and copyright, from stakeholders and experts, including through the technical working groups and Parliamentary working groups.
The government will publish a report on the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems by 18 March. This will set out the evidence and views we have gathered and outline our next steps.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering introducing a copyright exemption for commercial research, science and research or equivalent activities to permit the use of copyright works for artificial intelligence research and development without the consent of rightsholders; and if so, whether they will publish the scope of that exemption.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government will publish a report on the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems by 18 March. This report will consider the policy options set out in the government’s consultation on copyright and AI, set out the evidence and views we have gathered and outline our next steps.