The European Parliament calls for transparency and fair remuneration for the use of works protected by copyright in training artificial intelligence systems.

European lawmakers adopted on Tuesday a series of recommendations to protect creative works protected by copyright from their use by artificial intelligence systems, with 460 votes in favor, 71 against, and 88 abstentions. The Parliament calls for full transparency, fair remuneration, and the right of rights holders to exclude their content from AI model training processes.

The European Parliament adopted on Tuesday, in plenary, a series of recommendations to protect creative works protected by copyright from their use by artificial intelligence (AI) systems, with 460 votes in favor, 71 against, and 88 abstentions.

In brief

460 votes in favor, 71 against, 88 abstentions in the plenary on March 10, 2026

EU copyright legislation must apply to all generative AI systems on the EU market, regardless of where they were trained

The use of protected content by generative AI must be fairly compensated; the creative sector generates 6.9% of the EU's GDP

Full transparency is mandatory: detailed list of works used and records of crawling activities; their absence may constitute a copyright infringement

If the court rules in favor of the rights holder, the AI provider bears all judicial costs

New licensing market and proposed opt-out rights; EUIPO could manage the exclusion list

Specific protection for print and audiovisual media: full compensation and right of refusal

Content generated exclusively by AI does not benefit from copyright protection

The Parliament sends the recommendations to the European Commission, which holds the legislative initiative

European lawmakers believe that EU copyright legislation must apply to all generative artificial intelligence systems present in the European Union market, regardless of where they were trained.

The Parliament insists that the use of copyright-protected materials by generative AI systems must be fairly compensated, in view of protecting the European creative sector, which generates 6.9% of the EU's gross domestic product. Lawmakers also call on the Commission to analyze how remuneration for previous uses can be ensured, specifying that this should not be done through a global license that allows providers to train generative AI systems in exchange for a lump sum payment.

The Parliament emphasizes the importance of full transparency regarding the use of copyright-protected content by generative AI. AI providers and users are required to provide a detailed list of all copyright-protected works used for training systems, as well as detailed records of crawling activities carried out for inference and augmented generation through retrieval. The absence of this information could be perceived as a copyright infringement, leading to legal consequences for AI providers and users. If a court rules in favor of the rights holder, AI providers or users will have to bear all judicial costs and related expenses.

The Parliament calls on the Commission to create a new licensing market for copyright-protected materials, including voluntary collective licensing agreements by sectors, which should include individual creators and small and medium-sized enterprises. Lawmakers want to ensure that rights holders can exclude their works from the training processes of AI systems and suggest that the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) could manage such an exclusion list.

European lawmakers urge the Commission to protect the news media sector, whose content is regularly exploited by AI systems. News publications whose traffic and revenues are diverted by AI systems should be fully compensated and should have the right to refuse the use of their content for training AI systems. The Parliament insists that the aggregation of news content must ensure media pluralism and information diversity, avoiding selective processing of information or self-preferencing practices by gatekeepers of access to information that benefit their AI services.

The Parliament specifies that content generated entirely by AI should not benefit from copyright protection. Lawmakers also want to ensure that individuals are protected against the dissemination of manipulated and AI-generated content and emphasize the obligation of digital service providers to act against such illegal use.

Rapporteur Axel Voss (EPP, Germany) stated after the vote: "We need clear rules for the use of copyright-protected content for the purpose of training AI systems. Legal certainty would allow AI developers to know what content can be used and how licenses can be obtained. On the other hand, rights holders would be protected against unauthorized use of their content and would receive remuneration. If we want to promote and develop AI in Europe while protecting our creators, then these provisions are absolutely essential."

The recommendations adopted on Tuesday are to be sent to the European Commission, which holds the legislative initiative in the field. The Parliament calls on the Commission to examine and propose a legislative framework that regulates the intersection between copyright and the use of creative content by generative artificial intelligence systems. The vote comes in the context where AI models are trained on massive volumes of content available online, including literary, musical, journalistic, and visual works, without the consent or remuneration of rights holders, generating an increasing number of international litigations.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/stiri/parlamentul-european-cere-transparenta-si-remunerare-echitabila-pentru-utilizarea-operelor-protejate-de-dreptul-de-autori-in-antrenarea-sistemelor-de-inteligenta-artificiala