The Government has provided further detail on its plans for the introduction of a Creative Content Exchange (CCE) which is aimed at opening up new sources of data for AI developers while ensuring that content creators are fairly remunerated.

The CCE was first announced in the Government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan (discussed here) in broad terms, describing it as “a marketplace for selling, buying, licensing, and enabling permitted access to digitised cultural and creative assets”.

Last week, as part of a wider announcement relating to the launch of five kickstarter projects involving the Government Digital Service, further information was provided on the progress of the CCE. The Government explained that a new pilot phase will shortly begin, exploring how the digitised content of leading cultural institutions – including the National Archives, various prominent museums, and Historic England – can be made available by AI developers “while respecting the rights of creators and copyright owners”.

The potential advantages of the CCE were explored in more detail recently when the Secretaries of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall, and for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, appeared before the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee in its final evidence sessions on AI and copyright.

Three features in particular were identified: (1) the CCE’s marketplace could introduce a concept of ‘fair remuneration’ for data to be used by AI developers in circumstances were none currently exists; (2) it could make it easier for smaller rightsholders to enforce their rights, when currently the only recourse is expensive litigation; and (3) it could provide AI developers with access to high-quality data in a “fair and legal way”.

The Government has stressed that the CCE is not intended to replace existing marketplaces, but rather to act as a “catalyst and an incubator”, exploring how data-rich cultural assets can be commercialised in a fair way and, in turn, possibly paving the way for others to follow suit. Indeed, the Government has stated that part of the pilot will test a range of commercial models for licensing content.

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