Press release: ECSA welcomes the Legal Affairs Committee report on copyright and generative AI and calls on all MEPs to support it in plenary

Brussels, 28 January 2026

Today, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee adopted its report “Copyright and generative artificial intelligence – opportunities and challenges” by an overwhelming majority of 17 votes in favour, 3 against, and 2 abstentions.    

Our Alliance welcomes the report and strongly encourages all Members of the European Parliament to adopt it in plenary session. We also warmly thank rapporteur Axel Voss (EPP, Germany), the shadow rapporteurs, and the entire Committee for their efforts to uphold the key principles of transparency, consent and remuneration and encourage a well-functioning licensing market.

“Generative AI companies have exploited the works of European music creators without any consent, transparency, and remuneration. The Legal Affairs Committee report calls for essential measures to address this blatant disregard for music authors’ moral and economic rights, and to rectify this power imbalance. We urge all MEPs to adopt this report in plenary to protect authors’ intellectual property, safeguard their remuneration and their ability to continue creating a wide diversity of artistic works.”
Helienne Lindvall – Songwriter, ECSA President

For years, AI services have been exploiting authors’ works without any transparency, consent or remuneration. With this report, the Legal Affairs Committee strongly criticises the current state of play as well as the ambiguities of the current legal framework. Most importantly, it “calls for an additional legal framework” to ensure a “functioning licensing market that restores bargaining power of rightsholders” and the fair remuneration of creators.

We also commend the report’s calls to label AI-generated content and protect creators and individuals from illegal AI-generated and manipulated content using their voice, likeness and intellectual property, notably through obligations for digital service providers.     

Last but not least, we welcome the report’s calls for full transparency, notably through the establishment of a rebuttable presumption of use of copyrighted works for any generative AI model or system placed on the EU market. In a context where those services have used trade secrets to justify the massive exploitation of the works of creators in full opacity, such presumption can reverse the burden of proof, facilitate the enforcement of authors’ rights, and promote a well functioning licensing market.