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Why This Topic
As AI continues to revolutionize corporate operations, a new collective licensing solution from CCC ensures that both content creators and users can thrive.
What To Know and Why It Matters
The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) has introduced a collective licensing solution designed to allow organizations to be compliant when using data and information providers’ content within their internal AI systems. This new development integrates AI rights into CCC’s Annual Copyright Licenses (ACL), an enterprise-wide content licensing solution offering rights from millions of works to businesses that subscribe. The inclusion of AI re-use rights makes the ACL the first-ever collective licensing solution for the internal use of copyrighted materials in AI systems.
AI systems rely on a variety of materials, including copyrighted content, to deliver the most meaningful value. The new license enables companies to use copyrighted works internally for AI applications, such as machine learning, natural language processing, and content summarization. However, it prohibits external sharing of AI outputs or using them to create products or services for external customers.
Amid mounting litigation and increasing regulatory scrutiny, the need for proper licensing of copyrighted materials used in AI systems is becoming ever more apparent. The CCC approach streamlines the licensing process for corporations and promises to generate new revenue streams for content owners, while potentially setting a new standard for copyright compliance for AI usage.
CCC is not alone in exploring copyright licenses within the realm of AI, and the challenge is attracting new entrants. For example, Calliope Networks specializes in aggregating and licensing various copyrighted works, such as movies, TV shows, photos, books, podcast transcripts, research papers, and news content, specifically for AI training purposes. By offering an extensive catalogue of high-quality content, Calliope Networks seeks to ensure that AI developers can legally use copyrighted materials while enabling content owners to monetize their works.
Similarly, Created by Humans, founded by Trip Adler, who co-founded and served as CEO of Scribd, offers a marketplace where creators can license their intellectual property directly to AI systems. The platform, backed by $5 million from prominent investors, initially focuses on authors and book publishers. Creators can specify usage rights, ensuring consent, compensation, and credit, with the platform taking a cut from each transaction. Adler envisions this model revitalizing the book industry by introducing “AI revenue” as a significant new income stream.
Winners and Losers
While some author groups remain staunchly opposed to any use of human content for generative AI purposes, the CCC emerges as a leader by adopting a more progressive stance. They show that it’s possible to support both AI advancement and copyright protection, seamlessly integrating AI with respect for creators. By developing this license, CCC allows users to efficiently access a consistent set of rights across numerous rightsholders, ensuring that royalties are returned to rightsholders as fair compensation for the use of their works. The new license is likely to become the industry standard, further solidifying CCC’s role as a partner for corporations navigating the complexities of copyright compliance and AI.
Content owners who choose to participate in this initiative also stand to benefit. By opting into CCC’s new licensing framework, they ensure their content can be used legally and ethically within corporate AI systems, opening new revenue streams and safeguarding their rights in an increasingly AI-driven world. These content owners will find it easier to license their content to enterprise customers who prefer the convenience and consistency of a single CCC license.
On the other hand, content owners who choose not to participate may find themselves at a disadvantage. As enterprise customers adopt CCC’s standardized license, they may become less inclined to negotiate several licensing agreements with multiple content owners. This reluctance is likely to result in decreased demand for non-participating content, limiting its usage and associated revenue opportunities.
What’s Next
By limiting its scope to internal use, the new CCC license, while promising, remains relatively restricted. This is somewhat analogous to the limitations on photocopying rights when a corporation buys a photocopier, as additional permissions are often needed for copying copyrighted material. However, it serves as a clear signal that CCC believes copyright licenses are essential when using copyrighted content with AI systems – an argument that not everyone will agree with. If CCC succeeds in this argument, then its new collective AI license is set to be the beginning of a broader shift towards standardized copyright licensing in the AI space.
As standards and legal frameworks emerge, more companies will recognize the value of collective licenses in mitigating legal risks and ensuring compliance. Outsell expects the development of additional licensing solutions that extend beyond internal use, such as licenses that allow AI-generated content to be used externally with clients and the wider public. Such licences will enable companies to leverage protected content in AI for public-facing applications, from customer service bots to content creation tools, further expanding the market for licensed content.
New AI licenses will open-up new revenue streams for content owners. The structured and standardized nature of these agreements makes it easier for content owners to engage with a broader range of corporate clients, including those who are unable to navigate the complexities of individual licensing deals. As AI adoption increases, Outsell expects to see the emergence of collective copyright licenses tailored to specific industries, such as healthcare or finance, where AI usage is rapidly growing and requires specialized considerations.
Essential Actions
CCC’s new collective licensing solution marks a significant milestone in the integration of AI and copyright, and executives within the publishing, information, and data provider sectors need to consider the following actions.
Embrace Collective Licensing or Risk Obsolescence
Publishers and content owners need to recognize that the convenience and consistency offered by collective copyright agreements are set to become the industry standard. Refusing to participate not only leaves money on the table but will also increasingly limit the value of content. Enterprise customers will gravitate towards streamlined solutions, and those outside the collective framework may find their content sidelined.
Develop AI-Specific Content Strategies
The integration of AI rights into copyright licenses presents a unique opportunity to rethink content strategies. Content owners can invest in creating content specifically designed for AI applications. This means developing datasets that are not only rich and comprehensive but also structured in ways that facilitate machine learning and AI analysis. By proactively tailoring content for AI use, content owners can differentiate and position their offerings as indispensable resources in an AI-driven world.
Expand Licensing to Public-Facing AI Applications
Internal AI usage is just the beginning. The next step is licensing content for AI applications that interact with clients and the public. Content owners must prepare for this shift by developing licensing frameworks that address the unique challenges of external AI use. However, by pioneering these frameworks now, content owners will open new revenue streams and stay ahead of market demands.