Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Accepted in Part
Improve protections for creatives from generative AI misuse by urgently ratifying the Beijing Treaty.
Recommendation
The rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence and the impact this is already having on the ability of artists to protect their moral rights means that urgent action is necessary. The Government should improve protections for creatives to prevent misuse of their likeness and performances by emerging technologies such as generative AI. At minimum, this should involve bringing forward ratification of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances by the time it responds to this report. (Paragraph 61) 36 Connected tech: AI and creative technology
Government Response Summary
The government committed to implementing and ratifying the Beijing Treaty, expecting it to come into force in late 2024, fulfilling the request for ratification. However, for broader protections against AI misuse of likeness, it will only "explore the case for stronger protections" due to the Treaty's limitations.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
Performances and the Beijing Treaty (paragraph 61) The Government has committed to implementing and ratifying the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. The Treaty provides intellectual property rights for audiovisual performances. These include performances given by actors, musicians, dancers and other performers that are incorporated in films, television programmes and other audiovisual recordings. The Treaty does not include specific provisions for audiovisual performers to protect their rights against, for example, ‘deepfakes’ as may be generated by AI. However, implementing the Treaty includes providing audiovisual performers with moral rights for their live performances and performances in audiovisual fixations. These are the rights for the performer to: • claim to be identified as the performer, except where omission is dictated by the manner of the use (‘the attribution right’) and • object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of their performance that would be prejudicial to their honour or reputation, taking due account of the nature of audiovisual productions (‘the integrity right’). This right applies to modifications that are objectively prejudicial to the performer’s reputation in a substantial way. The Intellectual Property Office launched a public consultation on 14 September 2023 to build on an earlier call for views by gathering further evidence on options for implementation. The consultation included draft legislation for comment and closed on 9 November. Once the agreed legislation is in place, we expect the Treaty to come into force in the latter half of 2024. We accept the limitations of performer’s rights and the Beijing Treaty in dealing with the misuse of performers’ likenesses. The IPO will work with OAI, DCMS, and other interested departments to understand the legal environment and explore the case for stronger protections. We note that some industry initiatives are being introduced to address the challenges posed by generative AI, including deepfakes, such as the recent policy announcement by YouTube to implement stricter measures on AI- generated content.