UK Government Publishes Report and Impact Assessment on Copyright and AI, United Kingdom, March 2026

On March 18, 2026, the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) jointly published a Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, together with an accompanying Impact Assessment. The Report was published as a policy paper under Sections 135 and 136 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which mandated government analysis of the use of copyright works in AI development. The publication does not amend existing law; it is a statutory analytical report that sets out the government's findings and potential policy directions.

The Report's legal basis is Sections 135 and 136 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA 2025), which require the Secretary of State to produce and publish an analysis of the relationship between copyright law and the development of AI systems. The underlying copyright regime is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988), which has not been amended by the Report. The IPO has a closed consultation ("Copyright and Artificial Intelligence," published March 19, 2026) that runs concurrently and may lead to legislative proposals following further parliamentary consideration.

AI developers that train models on UK-originated content, creative rights holders (publishers, music companies, news agencies, visual artists, and authors), and technology platforms that distribute or index protected works in the UK market face direct policy exposure from the Report's analysis. The Report examines the adequacy of the existing text and data mining (TDM) exception under Section 29A of the CDPA 1988, which currently permits TDM for non-commercial research only and does not include a broad commercial TDM exemption. The Impact Assessment evaluates the economic consequences of extending or restricting TDM rights for AI training purposes.

The Report does not amend the CDPA 1988 or introduce new obligations. Potential legislative changes — including any expansion of the TDM exception, a transparency or opt-out regime for AI training data, or new rights for AI-generated works — remain subject to further parliamentary action. The closed consultation that accompanied the Report solicited views on these policy options, and DSIT/IPO will publish a response to consultation submissions before tabling any legislative amendments. Rights holders with existing licensing agreements covering AI training use should audit their contracts in light of the policy analysis set out in the Report.

Our firm advises on AI and copyright law, text and data mining licensing, and UK and EU AI regulatory compliance, and maintains a dedicated partnership network for AI developers, content rights holders, and technology platforms. We welcome inquiries from parties seeking to assess their position under the current UK TDM regime or to prepare for potential legislative change. Examples of work we handle include: AI training data licensing, TDM exception analysis, copyright infringement risk assessment, AI governance policy design, rights holder opt-out strategy, and UK-EU cross-border AI content compliance.

Source: UK Intellectual Property Office, "Report and impact assessment on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence," Policy Paper, ISBN 978-1-5286-6308-3, E03546782, published March 18, 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-and-impact-assessment-on-copyright-and-artificial-intelligence. Confirmed April 16, 2026.

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