A Grave Crisis to Creativity

by Vicki Willden-Lebrecht, The Bright Agency Founder and Lead Agent

As AI continues to develop at a rapid pace, a fundamental issue remains: authors’ and illustrators’ intellectual property has been used without their consent to train AI models. Creators’ work has been exploited, with no compensation or consultation, effectively disregarding their copyright and undermining their rights.

Until this issue is resolved, AI will remain a tornado of fear for creatives. Shockingly, the latest Labour government proposals is to change copyright laws that have so far protected creatives since 1709 to expose them.

The current copyright law is simple. Under our existing regulations, artists automatically receive protection for their work, and the creator retains copyright as soon as the work is produced. This legal framework ensures that creatives have their intellectual property safeguarded against unauthorised exploitation.

Currently there is no ‘uncertainty’ in the UK text and data mining regime: it is clear that UK copyright law does not allow text and data mining for commercial purposes without a licence. So far we are protected and their are cases that show this copyright is protecting artists form having their work scarped and used.

Illustration by Risa Kusumoto

In a landmark decision made in early February 2025, a federal judge in Delaware has ruled against Ross Intelligence, an AI-powered legal research platform, in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Thomson Reuters. The judge determined that Ross Intelligence violated copyright law by using Thomson Reuters’ proprietary content to develop its competing AI platform. This ruling marks the first of its kind in the United States, setting a precedent for how copyright law applies to the burgeoning field of AI and raising important questions about fair use in the context of machine learning.

The only uncertainty is around who has been using the artists’ and creatives’ work as training material without permission so far, how they obtained it, and the vital need for transparency. Under the government’s proposed opt-out system, the assumption will be that going forward any work can be used to train AI models unless the creator opts out.

Illustration by Nia Gould

The UK Labour government is demonstrating a concerning lack of understanding and experience in the creative arts by proposing a change to copyright law that only exacerbates the challenges faced by creators. This poorly conceived plan suggests that all artwork will be considered available and free of copyright unless the creator chooses to opt out. As a result, any artwork ‘orphaned’ could be used to train AI models unless the artist takes the initiative to protect their work. This proposal is harmful to creators, as it shifts the burden on to them to actively defend their artwork and pursue legal action in cases of infringement, ultimately undermining the balance of power.

The new proposal - a grave moment in time for the arts - switches this automatic protection for artists and their work, to now make their work automatically available for any one to use to train models unless the artist has opted out.

Illustration by Ronan Lynam

We are calling for there to be a distinction between AI assisted and AI generated and for companies to have to declare if they are using AI generated work.

Lastly, I am calling to preserve human creativity. We need to ensure that the rise of AI does not diminish or replace human creativity. History should not look back in regret as technology eclipsed our artistic expression.

Please write to your MP - it’s the most powerful thing you can do. Use the prebuilt template here.

You can lend your support to the campaign by contacting the CRA here.

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Want to discuss this further? Contact Vicki.