Lawmakers urge mandatory licensing, disclosure of training data, and registry oversight to protect creative works and ensure fair remuneration amid AI expansion.

The European Parliament recently approved a non-binding report advocating tougher copyright regulations for generative AI developers in the EU.

This own-initiative document, led by rapporteur Axel Voss and the Legal Affairs Committee, urges the European Commission to overhaul existing rules to ensure AI firms license copyrighted content used in model training and provide fair pay to creators.

The report deems the text-and-data-mining exception in the 2019 Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive inadequate for mass AI use of protected materials. It proposes a mandatory licensing system where developers disclose itemized lists of training data and negotiate with rights holders. A European registry at the EU Intellectual Property Office would catalog all such works and opt-outs by artists.

Non-compliant AI providers would face a rebuttable presumption of infringement, potentially barring their systems from the EU market regardless of training location.

Voss has emphasized that generative AI cannot evade legal accountability, stressing creators’ rights to transparency and compensation. The measure highlights EU copyright’s territorial reach, aligning with the AI Act by applying rules to models offered in the bloc. It also calls for Commission assessment of current laws’ fit for AI challenges, including remuneration for press content in AI outputs.

Reactions split along industry lines:

  • Authors’ groups such as the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers have hailed the report for balancing innovation with cultural sovereignty.
  • Conversely, the Computer & Communications Industry Association has decried it as a “compliance tax” harming small innovators and Europe’s tech edge.
  • Creative coalitions have urged enforcing of present rules over new mandates that could dilute protections.

Although non-binding, the report — adopted in early March 2026 — guides future Commission proposals. It pits the creative sector, contributing nearly 7% of EU GDP, against AI competitiveness demands, foreshadowing pivotal tech policy debates. The Commission must now evaluate gaps in the copyright framework urgently.