A coalition of music, media, and creative industry organizations has sharply criticized the European Commission´s rollout of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, arguing that official guidance on copyright and transparency requirements was shaped without meaningful engagement from rightsholders. The groups allege the Commission´s process ´solely benefits´ technology companies that they see as serial infringers of copyright, while neglecting the diverse cultural sectors powering nearly 7% of the EU´s GDP and employing 17 million people.
The organizations, which include vital industry bodies such as AEPO-ARTIS, BIEM, CISAC, ECSA, FIM, GESAC, IAO, ICMP, IFPI, IMPALA, and IMPF, expressed these concerns in an open letter. They argue that, as the landmark Artificial Intelligence Act´s obligations for data transparency and copyright compliance take effect, the accompanying code of practice, guidelines, and disclosure templates issued by the Commission fail to reflect the needs or perspectives of the copyright community. Despite participating in consultations, the groups contend their input was marginalized in favor of technology sector arguments.
Central to their criticism is article 53 of the Act, which was intended to establish and safeguard copyright and transparency standards for all companies using creative content to train generative models in the EU. The open letter accuses the Commission of overlooking the Act´s intended beneficiaries—creators and rightsholders—in crafting these new documents, producing outcomes that fall far short of meaningful intellectual property protections. The coalition characterizes the process as a missed opportunity and calls on the Commission to revisit its approach, urging both the European Parliament and individual member states to push for more balanced, effective enforcement that fulfills the Act´s original promise.
