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Written Question
Arts: Artificial Intelligence
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with representatives of the art sector on the potential impact of AI on that sector.

Answered by John Whittingdale

HM Government recognises the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence to a range of sectors, including the arts. As set out in the Government’s recent AI White Paper, our goal is to ensure that the UK becomes an AI superpower. It is important, however, that while we harness the benefits of AI, we also manage the risks. This includes risks to the creative and cultural sectors and to copyright-holders.

The Secretary of State and Ministers have held a number of meetings with people and organisations from across the creative and cultural sectors on this issue and on AI more broadly. This includes a meeting in which the Minister for Arts & Heritage, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay participated, hosted by What Next? in November, during which representatives from small and large arts organisations, freelance creative professionals, academics and other participants from across the country discussed the potential impact of AI on the arts and creative sectors.

DCMS has engaged with the arts and creative sectors to identify areas where AI is being applied through innovation and to understand the sectors’ views – for instance, through a recent meeting held jointly with the Intellectual Property Office and a group of leading sector chief executives.


Last month, the UK also hosted the world's first major summit on AI safety. This summit focused on the risks created or significantly exacerbated by the most powerful frontier AI systems, and looked to ensure that this technology is developed and adopted safely and responsibly. The summit brought together the governments of leading AI nations, technology companies, researchers, and civil society groups. DCMS Ministers and officials also attended the industry-led AI Fringe, which ran alongside the AI Safety Summit, and engaged with representatives from across the creative industries on issues such as research and development for AI in the arts and intellectual property.


Written Question
Intellectual Property: Artificial Intelligence
Wednesday 12th July 2023

Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help safeguard the intellectual property rights of performers in the music, comedy and wider arts sector, in the context of advances in artificial intelligence technology.

Answered by Paul Scully

Performers such as those in the music, comedy and wider arts sectors have their performances protected under Part II of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended. Sections 182 and 182A of the Act give performers the right to control who is able to record and make reproductions of their performances. These provisions apply regardless of the technology used to make such reproductions, including AI technology.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is working to develop a code of practice on copyright, related rights and AI. The IPO has met with representatives of performers as part of this process, as well as representatives of AI firms, AI users, and the wider creative industries. Alongside this, the IPO will be developing guidance on how copyright and related rights apply to material used and generated by AI models. The Government seeks to strike a balanced and pragmatic approach which allows AI innovators and the creative industries to grow in partnership.


Written Question
Arts: Intellectual Property
Wednesday 10th November 2021

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact on UK creative industries exports in the event of international exhaustion regime being implemented following consultation by the Intellectual Property Office.

Answered by Paul Scully

The Government recently held a consultation on the UK’s future exhaustion of intellectual property rights regime. The Government is currently assessing consultation responses. and will provide an update on this consultation in due course.


Written Question
Performing Arts: Intellectual Property
Monday 8th November 2021

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with or issued guidance to the Performing Rights Society on their issuing of claims for payment from publicans and others for performance rights when premises were closed as a result of the covid-19 lockdown.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Neither the Secretary of State at this Department, nor Ministers at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy have had discussions with PRS for Music or issued guidance on this matter. The Government is aware that PRS for Music put in place measures at the start of the pandemic to ease licensing requirements at the time. The Government was not involved in these: licensing matters are private and commercial arrangements between PRS for Music and its licensees.


Written Question
Performing Arts: Intellectual Property
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the UK has a high level of protection for (1) copyright, and (2) other performers’ rights, online.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK is widely acknowledged as one of the best places in the world in which to protect and enforce copyright and related rights.

Now that we have left the EU, we intend to maintain these high standards of protection, and to promote them globally, including through future trade agreements.

Our future trade agreements should achieve positive outcomes for owners and users of copyright and related rights, including effective cooperation on tackling online copyright infringement.

The Government takes the enforcement of IP rights very seriously, and is taking forward various initiatives including the development of a new enforcement strategy, continued funding for the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), strategic coordination of enforcement activity and continuing support for voluntary initiatives with intermediaries and others in the online world.


Written Question
Performing Arts: Intellectual Property
Friday 11th September 2020

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 718 on Audio-visual performers' rights.

Answered by John Whittingdale

Actors and other audiovisual performers enrich our lives and our culture and make an important contribution to our economy. The United Kingdom’s high standards of intellectual property protection include protections for audiovisual performers which reflect this contribution and allow them to be rewarded for it. These include economic rights in audiovisual performances which are consistent with those set out in the Beijing Treaty.

The United Kingdom is a signatory to the Beijing Treaty. However, while it was a Member State of the European Union, it was unable to proceed towards ratification by itself. Now that the UK has left the European Union, we are able to consider ratification as part of our future domestic and international policy agendas.

However, the Treaty contains certain optional provisions, which may be implemented in different ways. Before taking steps to ratify the treaty, these and other elements would need to be fully considered and their impacts assessed. This would include consultations with interested parties to best ensure that the most appropriate decisions are made for the United Kingdom’s creative industries and audiovisual performers in particular.


Written Question
Arts: Intellectual Property
Tuesday 30th June 2020

Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the level of reliance of UK creative industries on UK-based trade mark attorneys; what assessment he has made of trends in the level of that reliance after the transition period; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The UK’s highly skilled legal profession play a vital role in advising UK businesses in the creative sector, and indeed across all sectors, on how to make the most from their IP portfolios

Officials at the Intellectual Property Office are having ongoing conversations with representative bodies over how to best address any issues they may face once the transition period ends.


Written Question
Arts: Intellectual Property
Monday 29th June 2020

Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of the intellectual property of people in the creative industries in the event that a UK EU trade agreement is (a) agreed and (b) not agreed after the end of the transition period.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government’s approach to negotiations between the UK and the EU aims to secure an Intellectual Property Chapter that includes mutual assurances to maintain high standards of protection for IP rights, including registered IP rights such as patents, trademarks and designs; and unregistered rights such as copyright, and trade secrets. The approach also reflects international agreements such as the WTO agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and World Intellectual Property Organisation treaties.

If no further negotiated agreement is reached between the UK and the EU, the arrangements in the intellectual property section of the Withdrawal Agreement take effect at the end of the transition period. These arrangements provide legal certainty and protect the interests of rightsholders and users of the IP framework.


Written Question
Arts: Intellectual Property
Monday 18th May 2020

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the intellectual property of sports bodies is protected from piracy; what plans he has to investigate the potential commercial effect of the activities of the Saudi-based pirate broadcaster beoutQ on the UK's creative industries; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Officials in the Intellectual Property Office work closely with their counterparts in the Department for International Trade work, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on matters relating to the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights around the world.

Government Ministers and HM Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have raised this matter with the Saudi Arabian Government and will continue to make representations about any alleged broadcast infringement activities of UK IP.

We understand broadcasting piracy in Saudi Arabia, through the pirate operator beoutQ, has now stopped. This followed pressure by the UK, the US, European countries, and major sports rights holders.

The Government will continue to with the UK creative industries to try to understand the commercial effect of the alleged piracy by beoutQ.


Written Question
Arts: Intellectual Property
Thursday 13th February 2020

Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to protect copyright and intellectual property for the creative industries in future trade negotiations.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

The Government recognises the significant contribution that creative industries make to the UK economy and have consulted with industry stakeholders on intellectual property and trade.

Our intellectual property regime is consistently rated as one of the best in the world. Any future trade agreement must achieve a balanced outcome for creators, producers, performers, users, and consumers, in line with international standards.