EU lawmakers and French senators push for tightening of AI copyright rules
Published on 23rd March 2026
The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) voted on 28 January to adopt a series of proposals to ensure full transparency and fair remuneration for rightsholders for the use of copyrighted work by generative artificial intelligence (genAI). This initiative is based on the report on “Copyright and generative artificial intelligence – opportunities and challenges”.
This follows a new French Senate bill that proposes a rebuttable presumption that AI systems exploit copyright-protected works.
The JURI report, which was adopted on 10 March, calls on the European Commission to:
- Create “an immediate, fair and proportionate” remuneration mechanism for rightsholders for past uses.
- Develop a licensing market for the use of protected works in AI training.
- Require AI providers to respect rightsholders’ opt‑out reservations.
- Propose a rebuttable presumption that any generative AI model or system placed on the EU market has used protected works.
Earlier, on 12 December 2025, a new bill presented by several French senators proposed introducing a new article L.331‑4‑1 in the French Intellectual Property Code, establishing that, unless proven otherwise, any work or subject matter protected by copyright or neighbouring rights is presumed to have been exploited by an AI system “where any indication relating to the development, deployment or output of that AI system makes such exploitation plausible”. The bill will be discussed on 8 April.
Why it matters: AI developers and platforms face growing political pressure in the EU for paid licensing and stricter compliance with copyright opt‑outs, anticipating possible future legislative or regulatory initiatives targeting AI training practices. If adopted in France, the presumption would significantly shift the burden of proof to AI providers in disputes with rightsholders, making litigation easier for creators and raising compliance and documentation requirements for AI system providers operating in France.
