Who will win the AI/publisher copyright fight? With PPA's Sajeeda Merali

The creative industries' fight to protect their intellectual property from AI companies reached a crescendo last month amid the end of a government consultation on how it should handle copyright in the age of AI. But will public pressure be enough to convince governments to maintain copyright laws and not cave to tech giants promising strong economic growth?

Alongside the wider creative industries, the publishing sector has argued that offering tech companies leniency around copyright would severely undermine existing business models for publishers and artists.

One industry leader at the forefront of the fight to protect publishers’ IP is Professional Publishers Association (PPA) CEO Sajeeda Merali.

In a conversation with Jack Benjamin, Merali explained the arguments being made by AI companies and by publishers over copyright, as well as what the government is currently considering as it weighs the desire to drive technological and economic growth while protecting its outsized creative industries from harm.

The pair also discussed how magazines are adapting to new business realities – such as those created by consumer shifts towards AI usage and away from print readership – by transitioning to multiplatform content and commercial strategies.

Highlights:

4:46: Outlining arguments by AI companies and publishers over IP protections

13:03: Where the UK government presently sits on the policy debate

17:51: What's at stake for publishers in the age of AI

25:10: Unpacking the latest ABC figures – where are publishers in the transition to digital?

Related articles:

UK creative industries call on government to ‘make it fair’ in AI era

‘End of an era for search as we know it’? Publishers grapple with gen-AI search

‘Show me the money’: Will business models be ‘redefined’ by AI agents?

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