AI and copyright in the UK - the government decides to wait and see

Earlier this week, the UK government published its much-anticipated report on the interaction between copyright law and AI.

It has been prepared following the consultation, which ran from December 2024 to February 2025, which elicited 11,520 responses from a wide range of respondents, including creators and right holders, developers of AI models and applications, as well as academics, researchers, cultural heritage organisations, and legal professionals.

It will be a disappointing read for anyone hoping for imminent legislative changes to the UK’s copyright regime to address the challenges and opportunities of AI models, with the overriding takeaway being that the government wants to wait to see how things develop, in the UK and globally, and in respect of both the technology and law.

While we digest the report in full, there are two points of particular interest:

U-turn on the proposed copyright exception to allow for the training of AI models

The most notable development is in relation to the possible introduction of an exception to copyright protection to allow for the training of AI models.

Previously, the government’s preferred position was to introduce a broad exception, with the ability for rights holders to opt-out.  The government has now said that, “in light of the strong views of those who responded to the consultation, the gaps in evidence and the rapidly evolving AI sector and international context, a broad copyright exception with opt-out is no longer the government’s preferred way forward.”

Instead, the government will gather more evidence and wait to see the impact which the development and deployment of AI has across the UK economy.

This policy shift has been celebrated by most in the UK’s creative industries, who the report notes had “Strong concerns” about the proposal.  That said, concerns with this option were also expressed by AI developers.  As the report notes, “The AI sector supported specific opt-out methods at clearly defined points, though many preferred an exception without an opt-out.”

The UK is therefore left somewhat in limbo, with the decision on this fundamental issue kicked firmly down the road.

Ownership of copyright in works created by those using AI tools   

Another big issue which the report addresses is the ownership of copyright in content produced with (or with the assistance of) AI tools.

UK copyright law provides protection for computer generated works. This puts the UK out of step with most other jurisdictions, and the report notes that most people who responded to the consultation considered that works created solely by AI should not be protected by copyright, and supported the removal of this protection. The government proposes to “continue to monitor the use and impact of protection for wholly computer-generated works” before making any decision.

The position is different for works created by humans, but assisted by AI. The government’s position, which is consistent with its previously stated position, is that copyright should continue to protect works created with AI assistance, on the basis that copyright should continue to incentivise and protect human creativity (even if assisted by AI).

What happens next

There’s no clear timeframe for the government’s next steps, merely a commitment to continue to review the evidence, consider options and review the approach in light of technological, market and legal developments.

The report also acknowledges that, as most foundation models are not trained in the UK, the introduction of a broad exception to UK copyright law might help AI developers, but might not make too much of a difference given the global nature of the legal and other structural factors at play.

As the government decides what to do, parties may look to the courts to resolve some of the most fundamental questions which remain open.  The appeal to the Court of Appeal in Getty v Stability AI will of course be closely followed, and perhaps we will see more litigation in the UK as the use of AI continues to proliferate.