Government backtracks on controversial copyright changes

Plans to amend copyright law to allow artificial intelligence developers to exploit protected works without the permission of creators and rightsholders have been ditched by government.

During a debate in the House of Commons today Intellectual Property Minister George Freeman said he and DCMS Minister Julia Lopez felt that the proposals were not correct and that they would “not be proceeding" with them.

The changes of policy follows opposition to the proposals from the music industry.

“We are looking to stop them and to return to office to have a rather deeper conversation with the All Party Parliamentary Group who I met yesterday, with experts in both Houses and with the industry,” Freeman said.

Commenting on the announcement, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, Chief Executive of UK Music, said: “UK Music warmly welcomes the minister’s decision to scrap plans for a catastrophic blanket copyright exception.

“The whole music industry has been united in its opposition to these proposals, which would have paved the way for music laundering and opened up our brilliant creators and rights holders to gross exploitation.

“We are delighted to see the back of a policy that risked irreparable damage to the global success story that is the UK music industry."