Artificial Intelligence, TDM and Copyright
Activities you can legally carry out under the TDM exception do not include training AI. It is the responsibility of the person carrying out the TDM to ensure the data is not being used to train an AI system.
Researchers should use the School’s ring- fenced AI tools to ensure the data is kept secure.
AI generated content - its copyright status
In law to qualify for protection under copyright the work must be “original” and must exhibit a degree of labour, skill or judgement. Most definitions of originality in case law require the input of a human author. However, there is still a lack of clarity regarding the copyright status of AI generated content. Can the output of an AI can qualify for copyright protection and if so, who is the author/creator - the individual or the AI firm?
Unlike many other countries, UK copyright law addresses computer generated work. Under section 9, for any “literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, which is computer-generated, the author shall be taken to be the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken”.
However, these points are still subject to debate. See this article from Freshfields.