Government of Canada Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence

The government of Canada has released its report on what it heard during consultations on copyright and artificial intelligence that took place between October 12, 2023, and January 15, 2024.

"The consultation sought feedback on three key copyright policy areas related to generative AI technology:

1. the use of copyright-protected works in the training of AI systems, notably for text and data mining (TDM) activities;
2. authorship and ownership rights related to AI-generated content; and
3. questions of liability, notably when AI-generated content infringes copyright."

"While these issues were outlined in the paper, participants in the consultation were also able to raise any other issues they thought important. A number of additional concerns about AI were raised frequently in the consultation. Some of these concerns related to copyright, while others may require consideration outside the copyright framework."

The report summarizes various "observations" that emerged from the consultations as follows:

• Observation 1: Creators oppose the use of their content in AI without consent and compensation
• Observation 2: User groups support clarifications that TDM does not infringe copyright
• Observation 3: Support for greater transparency regarding TDM inputs
• Observation 4: Support for the centrality of human authorship
• Observation 5: No consensus about whether existing legal tests and remedies are adequate
• Observation 6: No consensus about who may be liable for infringing AI-generated content
• Observation 7: Support for greater transparency to facilitate determining liability
• Observation 8: Concerns raised on the use of Indigenous cultural expressions in AI
• Observation 9: Some support for labelling of AI-generated content
• Observation 10: Some concern over the use of performers’ likenesses in deepfakes
• Observation 11: Concerns about negative impacts of AI on job security and unfair competition