UK government bins UKIPO’s flagship AI reforms
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

UK government bins UKIPO’s flagship AI reforms

Westminster, London

IP minister George Freeman said on Wednesday that plans for a broad text and data mining exception would not go ahead and that further consultation was needed

The UK government has dropped plans to allow artificial intelligence developers to use copyright-protected material for training purposes, it was confirmed on Wednesday, February 1.

George Freeman, minister responsible for intellectual property, told the House of Commons that the government will instead begin a deeper consultation with rights owners over the country’s text and data mining (TDM) laws.

His comments were published in Hansard, the official record of activity in parliament.

The UKIPO said at the time the proposals would help achieve the government's plan to make the UK an AI superpower.

The office first announced proposals last June for a commercial copyright exception that would establish the UK as one of the most friendly jurisdictions for TDM.

But the plans were met with fierce opposition from some rights owners who said they would undermine the creative industries.

Julia Lopez, a minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), suggested last November that her department would be unlikely to support the proposals.

“We have written around to make it clear to other ministers that the proposals were not correct," he told parliament on Wednesday.

“I hasten to say that they were published after I left government, and it was a period of some turmoil. One of the lessons from this is to try not to legislate in periods of political turmoil,” he added.

The UKIPO’s plans were originally published on June 28 2022 but Freeman in fact resigned on July 7.

Managing IP has asked the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in which Freeman serves, to clarify.

He added that the government had received a huge response which should have been picked up in the pre-consultation stage before the proposals were announced.

Freeman said the government would revisit the feedback it received on TDM and see if there were proposals that could command support from various stakeholders.

A UKIPO spokesperson said: "In a Westminster Hall debate, Minister George Freeman confirmed that following additional evidence of impact on the creative industries, ministers do not intend to move forward with the proposals on copyright and data mining announced last year.

"The Government’s approach to this issue is going through the usual decision making processes and an announcement will be made in due course."

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A 36-member team from Zhong Lun Law Firm, including six partners, will join the newly formed East IP Group
The Delhi High Court sided with Ericsson against Indian smartphone maker Lava, bringing the companies' nine-year dispute to a close
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Tennessee has passed the ELVIS Act, a law that fights against AI models that mimic the voice and likeness of music artists
Rob Stien, chief communications and public policy officer at InterDigital, says the EU has forgotten innovators while trying to solve an issue that doesn’t exist
As Australia’s Qantm IP leans towards being acquired by a private equity company, sources discuss what it could mean for IP firms
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
Nghiem Xuan Bac Pham, managing partner of Vision & Associates, discusses opportunities created by the US-China rift as well as profitability issues facing IP practices
Douglas Leite and two of his colleagues were intrigued by Bhering Advogados’s mission to grow its patent litigation practice
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP practitioner about their life and career
Gift this article