Publishers call for AI transparency and copyright protection
The Publishers Association has called on the UK government to rule out any form of copyright exception for AI and to legislate for transparency requirements for AI developers, as it released a new report examining how publishers license content for artificial intelligence.
The report, Content Superpower: UK publishing and the AI licensing market, provides what the association describes as the first comprehensive overview of how publishers are licensing content for AI use.
According to the report, the AI licensing market for publishing content is already established and continuing to grow, despite ongoing uncertainty around the government’s approach to copyright and AI. The association argues that this undermines calls for the introduction of a copyright exception for AI training.
Among the report’s key findings is that 100% of major academic publishers in the UK are expected to be active in the AI licensing market by the end of 2026. The study also notes that publishers have been licensing content for text and data mining (TDM) for around a decade, with AI training licences emerging by 2023 and licensing for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) growing rapidly.
However, the report warns that uncertainty surrounding the UK government’s consultation on copyright and AI is limiting the full potential of the market.
It also highlights the strong demand for publisher content in AI development, arguing that decades of investment in high-quality publishing outputs have created a competitive advantage for the UK.
Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, said: “This first-of-its-kind report shows the UK has an opportunity to create a role for itself as an AI content superpower. It shows there is a willing and growing set of buyers, who value and are willing to pay for high-quality content and so it is no surprise that UK publishers’ content is in high demand. The incredible investment and expertise publishers bring to their work gives the UK an extraordinary competitive advantage on the world stage – and something that the UK government ignores at its peril.
“Ahead of the government announcing their next steps on AI and copyright, we are calling on them to seize the UK’s competitive advantage by ruling out any form of copyright exception for AI and legislating to introduce transparency requirements for AI developers.”
In the introduction to the report, Mandy Hill, President of the Publishers Association and Managing Director of Academic at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, also highlighted the long-term investment made by publishers in high-quality content.
She writes: ‘It is no surprise that UK publishers’ content is in demand. From the discovery and nurturing of bestselling novelists to the curation of highly cited journals, our industry has created, disseminated and invested in high-quality content for decades. As demand for high-quality content for AI grows, and the potential for great scientific breakthroughs expands, the UK should capitalise on its position as a global content superpower.’
The UK government is expected to respond on 18 March.