Generative AI and liability for copyright infringement under EU law: State of play and emerging issues
EU copyright laws face significant challenges as generative AI technologies become more widespread across the continent.
Recent research highlights how the unique features of generative AI strain existing legal categories. Unlike previous technological shifts, generative AI operates at a scale that involves millions of works from diverse sources. This makes it difficult to identify specific acts of infringement or attribute them to a single person. The research also points to the opacity of these systems. It is often hard to see how a model stores or transforms protected works within its parameters. Additionally, the relative autonomy of AI outputs complicates the question of who is responsible when an infringement occurs. The paper maps out the “GenAI value chain” to identify specific risk points at every stage, including data scraping, curation, model training, and final output generation.
This matters because it highlights a persistent legal gray zone for European enterprises and public institutions. For AI practitioners, the lack of legal certainty means that risks are often distributed across different actors. A developer might be responsible for one part of the chain, while an end user might trigger another liability. For the public sector, this underscores the need for robust governance frameworks. It is not enough to look at the final output alone. Organizations must consider the entire lifecycle of the AI to manage risks effectively. Understanding these structural flaws helps in building safer and more compliant AI strategies.
How is your organization planning to manage these evolving copyright risks?
#AI #AIGovernance #EUlaw #Copyright #PublicSector
https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cfl.2026.10059?rft_dat=source%3Ddrss