DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

UK proposes new data law that could have serious copyright implications for photographers

Sep 15, 2022 by Alex Baker Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

The Association of Photographers (AOP) have raised their concerns over a new exception to the UK’s data mining law which could have significant consequences for photographers. The new exemption proposes to freely allow the machine mining of all imagery published online for any use by anyone, including AI developers. It would cover both copyright works and those protected by the UK Database Right.

Currently, the Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception to copyright protection permits non-commercial purpose machine analysis of online content, provided that there is lawful access (such as a subscription). It is also limited to prevent the resale or reuse for other purposes and must be accompanied by acknowledgement of the source.

The updated version of the exemption scraps all of that, and plays into the hands of big tech developers. “With serious economic consequences for any creator,” says the AOP, “but most especially photographers with data-rich images, this proposal completely short-circuits the licensing process allowing AI developers and others free commercial access to content for which, under normal circumstances, they would have to license and pay for.”

And not only that, but on a practical level, it would mean that AI bots/crawlers could scan or read any digital images on your websites or social media accounts, and extract any data the bots have been programmed to search for.

The AOP is concerned that not only will photographers lose out on image licensing, but also the very platforms being trained using their works may ultimately replace the work they currently do. A double whammy in other words.

“On the horizon are already AI/Machine Learning programmes that have openly copied millions of images to enable owners/users to create new ones without remunerating copyright owners,” say the AOP.

“This change in UK legislation would fundamentally turn the tables on creators giving way to economically harmful competition by allowing a content ‘free for all’ and invoking an unfair machine-endeavour vs. human endeavour scenario.”

Essentially, no one has really figured out the copyright implications of AI-created images. Should a computer sample hundreds of copyrighted images in order to learn and then regurgitate the same thing? Or is it merely no different than a human learning photography? That’s essentially what AI text-to-image machines like DALL-E and MidJourney are doing, however.

It’s a discussion currently on many creators’ lips. Will AI eventually replace humans in the creative industries? We’re currently in the Wild West. At least, when it comes to new tech and the rapidly changing world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). An AI-created image even won a contest recently.

Most new products are required to iron out potential issues prior to going to market. However, the Digital Tech Lords (yes I’m using that flippantly but make no mistake that they are top of the hierarchy) can basically bypass that, develop an idea and release it. They can then sort out problems at their leisure, or not as the case often is.

But many of these problems with digital online tech are societal and have many wider-reaching implications than the engineers perceive at the time of development. AI certainly has a lot of potential for good. But can massive disruption of whole industries ever be a positive thing? We need, for example, the political infrastructure such as a universal income to catch those falling through the net.

It’s an important conversation and one that we all need to participate in. It needs to be both with the tech companies, lawmakers and within the artistic community. Otherwise, we could find ourselves shut outside in a cold world with the door firmly closed.

What are your thoughts on AI and its implications for the photography industry?

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

U.S. Copyright Office proposes new copyright registration rules for groups of photos US Copyright Office proposes 41% increase in copyright registration fees Copyright Symbol with Laptop ComputerCopyright – 20 Things Photographers Need To Know About Intellectual Property Law Can I Use That Picture? This Flowchart Helps You Demystify Copyright Law

Filed Under: news Tagged With: AI, Association of photographers, copyright, data laws, data mining, uk

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.net

About Alex Baker

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

« DJI announces Osmo Action 3 with dedicated portrait mode and battery that operates in extreme temperatures
Elon Musk’s ex-girlfriend sells old photos of him for thousands of dollars »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Ace your next portrait shoot with these composition tips
  • This is how to get photography clients on Instagram – even with few followers
  • “I prefer using smaller cameras” – an unorthodox take on size
  • A pigeon scares a meteorologist as it photobombs a live camera
  • Photographer files lawsuit against NFL receiver and teams after shoving incident

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy