Protecting Creators as AI Gets Smarter

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 10 March 2026 that sets out how the EU will balance the protection of copyright with the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). The main points are:

• Copyright is a fundamental right that must be respected as the EU moves into a digital future. The resolution stresses that the EU must keep its creative sector – which contributes about 4 % of EU value added, 6.9 % of GDP and employs around 8 million people – strong and competitive.

• The EU wants to be a leader in AI. The Commission’s AI Action Plan aims to make Europe a world leader in AI, but this can only happen if GenAI can use high‑quality, legally‑licensed training data. The resolution calls for a fair system that pays creators for the use of their works.

• Current copyright rules are not enough for GenAI. The resolution says that the existing EU copyright framework needs to be clarified and, where necessary, updated so that it covers the use of copyrighted works for training, inference, and other AI functions. It also calls for a clear licensing market that lets creators decide how their works are used and how much they are paid.

• Transparency is essential. AI providers must keep a detailed list of every copyrighted work they use for training, inference, or “retrieval‑augmented generation” (the process of pulling in real‑time data). If a provider fails to provide this list, a court should be able to assume that the work was used and that the provider must pay the creator.

• The EU will create a trusted intermediary – the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) – to help creators block the use of their works in AI training, to manage licensing agreements, and to keep records of AI use. The EUIPO will also run a Copyright Knowledge Centre to explain rights to creators and AI developers.

• The AI Act and other EU rules must apply to all AI services in the EU. Whether a company is based inside or outside the EU, if its AI model is sold or used in the EU, EU copyright law must apply. If the model uses copyrighted works without permission, it cannot be sold in the EU.

• The resolution protects the press and news media. It requires that AI systems cannot use news content without the press’s consent and that any AI that competes with news outlets must pay fair compensation. It also calls for rules that prevent AI from “deep‑faking” real people without their permission.

• AI‑generated content that is not original should not receive copyright protection. The resolution says that purely AI‑generated works that do not meet the criteria for originality should stay in the public domain.

• The EU will keep working on the legal framework. The Commission is asked to review the current copyright rules, to create a licensing market, and to develop a code of practice for AI providers that includes transparency, opt‑out mechanisms, and complaint handling.

• The resolution is sent to the Council, the Commission, and national governments so that the EU can act on these proposals.

In short, the EU wants to keep its creative industries thriving, ensure that AI can grow responsibly, and make sure that creators are paid and protected when their works are used to train or run AI systems.