First progress report of the Ad-hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence
Almost exactly one year ago, the Ad-hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI) was established under the auspices of the Council of Europe. Its main task was to analyse the feasibility of creating a legal framework for development, design and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in accordance with the standards of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. On 23 September 2020, the Committee of Ministers confirmed the first progress report of CAHAI.
The progress report plans out clear steps to be undertaken in order to achieve a legal instrument that will lead to broader use of AI while respecting human rights, the rule of law and democracy. This is all the more important in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. CAHAI will presumably address the findings of the report at its third plenary meeting in December, and will hold numerous stakeholders’ consultations in 2021, leading to the finalisation of the elements of the legal framework for the use of AI.
The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that maintains the Open Library, a digital library index, and is dedicated to preserving knowledge. As many of the works in the Internet Archive are under copyright, the Archive uses a system of controlled digital lending based on digital rights management to prevent unauthorized downloading or copying of copyrighted books. In March 2020, due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet Archive established the National Emergency Library, eliminating the waiting lists used in the Open Library and expanding access to books for all readers. In June 2020, the Emergency National Library faced a lawsuit from four book publishers and was ultimately closed.
The 43rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (hereinafter SCCR) made substantial progress on the issues advocated by the A2K Coalition (Access to Knowledge Coalition), which IPI is a member of. This year’s session was the most productive on the issues of exceptions and limitations. James Love (Knowledge Ecology International), a long-time observer at WIPO, described the outcome and the impact of the public interest community as the strongest since the conclusion of the Marrakech Treaty, which brought global copyright exceptions for the benefit of the blind and visually impaired.
Today, March 17, 2023, a symposium on law in the information society is taking place in the golden lecture hall of the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana. Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič will present copyright aspects of artificial intelligence at the symposium.
The third day of the 43rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is intended for discussion on the topic of exceptions and limitations to copyright, especially in connection with the right to research.