Businesses in seemingly every industry are rapidly embracing artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, to revolutionize their operations, enhance productivity, and drive innovation. According to McKinsey’s latest Global Survey on AI, adoption of generative AI has nearly doubled in just ten months, with 65% of respondents reporting that their organizations are now regularly using the technology. From streamlining internal processes to creating cutting-edge customer experiences, the applications of AI are vast and impactful. Internally, companies are leveraging AI for tasks such as automated report generation, data analysis, and employee training programs. Externally, businesses are deploying AI-powered chatbots for customer service, using AI to personalize marketing campaigns, and even developing AI-assisted product design. The survey also reveals where businesses are seeing tangible benefits: the largest share of respondents report meaningful cost reductions from generative AI use in human resources, while revenue increases are most seen in supply chain and inventory management. As these powerful tools become more integrated into daily operations, a critical question looms: How do we ensure responsible and legal use of these groundbreaking technologies?
The McKinsey survey underscores the significance of intellectual property (IP) concerns in the AI landscape. IP infringement emerges as the second-highest risk category associated with generative AI, surpassed only by inaccuracy.
According to the survey, 52% of respondents consider IP infringement a relevant risk, ranking it above other critical issues such as cybersecurity, personal/individual privacy, regulatory compliance, explainability, and equity and fairness. However, despite its high ranking, only 25% of organizations report actively working to mitigate IP infringement risks. This stark gap between risk recognition and mitigation efforts highlights a crucial area where businesses need to take more decisive action as they scale their AI initiatives.
Another recent article, “The Heart of the Matter: Copyright, AI Training, and LLMs,” by Daniel Gervais, Haralambos Marmanis, Noam Shemtov and Catherine Zaller Rowland provides valuable insights into this complex landscape. Let’s explore why responsible AI use starts with proper licensing and implications for businesses like yours when navigating these waters.
The AI Copyright Conundrum
Generative AI models, like the large language models (LLMs) powering tools such as ChatGPT, are trained on vast amounts of data – much of which is copyrighted material. As the “The Heart of the Matter” authors point out, this raises significant legal and ethical questions. When an AI model ingests copyrighted works during training, is it infringing on those copyrights? And when businesses use these models internally, could they be exposing themselves to legal risk?
The short answer is: It’s complicated. But that doesn’t mean we’re at an impasse. In fact, there’s a clear path forward for businesses that understand the importance of leveraging AI responsibly: licensing.
Why Licensing Matters
There are many types of copyright licensing solutions, including direct (with rightsholders) and collective, which allow for the use of copyrighted works from many different rightsholders under a consistent set of specified terms and conditions. When it comes to responsible AI, licensing isn’t just a legal formality – it’s a fundamental aspect of the responsible AI paradigm. Here’s why:
- Legal Compliance: By obtaining proper licenses, businesses can take measures to stay on the right side of copyright law when using AI tools.
- Ethical Considerations: Licensing acknowledges and provides remuneration to creators for the value of their work, which contributes to AI advancements.
- Risk Mitigation: With proper licensing, businesses can minimize risks related to potential legal challenges.
- Sustainable Innovation: Licensing creates a symbiotic ecosystem that enables content creators and AI developers to survive and thrive.
 Collective AI Rights from CCC: Unlocking Innovation
Recognizing the need to augment existing licensing solutions for the AI era, CCC has integrated its new offering of AI rights for internal use into their Annual Copyright Licenses (ACL), a voluntary, opt-in collective licensing solution.
The license facilitates the use of certain copyrighted materials by corporate ACL customers within their AI systems for internal business purposes. It’s a win-win solution that addresses many of the raised in “The Heart of the Matter.” These include the unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted works during AI training, the use of copyright protected works in fine-tuning, prompting and RAG models, the creation of derivative works, and the removal of rights management information. By providing a structured licensing framework for internal use, the modernized ACL helps mitigate these legal and ethical issues while enabling businesses to leverage AI technologies responsibly.
The use cases are as varied as the industries and companies themselves, and we are just beginning to explore how generative AI can improve businesses across the board. The following are just a few examples of how different types of companies can leverage this license:
- Energy Engineering Firms: Train AI systems on recent research papers and technical reports, enabling more efficient staff training on emerging product designs.
- Biotech Companies: Streamline literature reviews of thousands of medical journals, rapidly identifying relevant studies and potential drug interactions for novel treatments.
- Multinational Manufacturing Corporations: Train AI models on industry standards and technical manuals from various countries, facilitating global compliance checks for their products.
- Global Financial Services Companies: Train AI models on archives of market reports, financial news, and economic analyses, enabling more accurate risk assessments and investment strategies.
- Multinational Retail Chains: Summarize industry trend reports, consumer behavior studies, and fashion magazines to predict upcoming style trends and optimize inventory management.
- Management Consulting Firms: Enhance organizational change management by training AI on leadership books, management journals, and case studies,
These are just a few of the many examples that illustrate how licensing can empower businesses to realize the full potential of AI for innovation and efficiency.
Beyond Internal Use: The Future of AI Licensing
While CCC’s current offering focuses on internal use, it’s likely just the beginning. As Roy Kaufman points out in his article “The Interplay Between Copyright Licensing and Exclusive Rights; AI Edition,” we can expect to see the development of additional licensing solutions that extend beyond internal use.
Imagine licenses that allow for copyrighted content to be used to train large language models (LLMs) for external use cases enabled by GenAI systems. Such developments could open up a world of new possibilities.
Steps for Responsible IP Compliance in AI Use
Here are just some of the actionable steps that businesses like yours adopting along their responsible AI journey:
- Audit Your AI Copyright Practices: Review how your organization and suppliers source, use, and track copyrighted materials in AI systems
- Close Licensing Gap: Look into collective licensing solutions like CCC’s, as well as direct licensing opportunities with content owners.
- Develop an AI Copyright Governance Framework: Create guidelines, establish steering committees, and implement policies for responsible AI use that respect copyright.
- Stay Informed: Keep up with developments in AI copyright law and licensing options. This field is evolving rapidly.
- Educate Your Team: Let everyone using AI tools in your organization know about the importance of copyright compliance.
The Path Forward
It is clear that licensing will play a crucial role in navigating the exciting yet complex world of generative AI. By embracing licensing solutions, businesses like yours can confidently harness the power of AI while respecting copyright and supporting content creators.
Remember, responsible AI isn’t just about compliance – it’s about creating a thriving ecosystem where innovation and creativity can flourish. As “The Heart of the Matter” emphasizes, the interplay between copyright and AI is at the core of this challenge. By addressing it head-on through licensing, we can pave the way for a future where AI enhances human creativity rather than threatening it.
In the words of the authors, “To foster a future that is both pro-copyright and pro-AI, it is essential to carefully navigate the intersection of these two critical domains, harnessing the power of both copyright and technology as engines of innovation.”
Let’s embrace that challenge and lead the way in responsible AI use. After all, the future of innovation depends on it.