OTTAWA — As observers are looking to a slew of high-profile U.S. lawsuits that could determine if generative AI violates copyright, so is the federal government — which doesn’t know how Canadian copyright law applies to systems like ChatGPT.
“There is no text and data mining-specific exception in the Act, and it is unclear how current exceptions to infringement cover text and data mining activity and the training of AI using unlicensed works,” said the memo prepared for then-heritage minister Pablo Rodriguez in May. Those who are behind copyrighted work object to such use. “Rights holders argue the use of unlicensed copyright-protected works in the training of AI models infringes their copyright, and that regulation is needed,” the briefing note outlined.
There is also uncertainty around whether AI-generated content is copyrightable, though it’s “generally understood” a human author is needed, the note said. The partially-redacted document didn’t include any details about what actions the government might take in response. A spokesperson for Canadian Heritage said the government “continues to analyze copyright policy issues related to AI considering the evolution of the marketplace, reforms in other jurisdictions, and discussions with stakeholders.”