Position Statement of the Max Planck Institute of 25 June 2026 on the Future Copyright Framework in Times of Generative AI (Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, No. 26-10), 2026, 42
The Max Planck Institute responds to the European Commission's Call for Evidence of 13 May 2026 with a focus on necessary adaptions in copyright law in relation to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). The Institute proposes broadening the scope of protected uses to include two new rights: an AI development right and an AI exploitation right. For the use of protected content in AI development that is aggregated through webscraping, the Institute recommends introducing an exception that enables unrestricted access to content lawfully available on the internet, combined with a right to fair compensation. For other types of content, the Institute supports the principle of voluntary licensing, allowing the rightholders to choose between individual and collective licensing. However, for the making available of AIgenerated content, as a particular form of AI exploitation, the Institute suggests a system of mandatory collective rights management combined with extended collective licensing. In all cases where the licensing approach applies, the Institute proposes protecting authors and performing artists through a residual right to equitable remuneration. The Position Statement also discusses ways to enable the exercise of exceptions in the case of prompting and warns against making the proposed reform applicable to related rights in general.
