TEXT AND DATA MINING RESERVATION
The Estonian Actors’ Association (ENL) represents Estonian professional actors and, as a collective management organisation, manages the related rights of its members (rights of performer).
What is an artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a general term used to define any system that can perform tasks using seemingly human intelligence. Artificial intelligence includes, for example, a generative artificial intelligence that focuses on the creation or generation of new and unique content (eg, texts, images, music and videos) and can create content that has not existed before through the machine processing of large amounts of data. Artificial intelligence systems are developed and taught by collecting large amounts of information from digital databases through automated software tools using text and data mining. Processing large amount of data allows an artificial intelligence to understand and recognize different patterns and trends. For example, an artificial intelligence collects and analyses an actor’s data and past performances, and in this way, it can repeat the performances and create new content without the actor having to physically be on set or record their voice.
ENL supports responsible use of artificial intelligence
ENL supports technological development and innovation, including teaching and developing artificial intelligence. However, ENL believes it is important that artificial intelligence is used responsibly, and that people involved in the creative process, including the actors, should not suffer as a result. ENL believes that the use of works and performances protected by copyright and related rights must be fairly remunerated for rightsholders. Therefore, ENL wants to ensure that the performances of its members that are protected by related rights are not used without ENL’s prior permission.
Text and data mining exception and its applicability to teaching and developing artificial intelligence
According to section 192(1) of the Estonian Copyright Act, reproduction of a legally accessible work for the purposes of text and data mining is permitted without the consent of the author and without payment of royalties. The same ‘free use’ exception also applies to performers (eg, actors) and their performances. It is debatable whether teaching and developing artificial intelligence can be classified under the text and data mining exemption. Nevertheless, it is unequivocal that works and performances protected by copyright and related rights may be used only if the rightsholders have not notified a reservation of use.
Text and data mining reservation
According to section 192(2) of the Estonian Copyright Act, the author may expressly exclude the free use of the work for text and data mining purposes outside of scientific research in an appropriate manner, including in the case of content made publicly available online by machine-readable means. Performers have the same discretion over their performances.
ENL clearly and unambiguously excludes the use of the performances of the actors represented by ENL for text and data mining purposes for the purpose of developing and training an artificial intelligence outside of scientific research without obtaining the relevant consent (license) from ENL, based on section 192(2) of the Estonian Copyright Act and the underlying Article 4(3) of Directive 2019/790 of the European Union.
Thus, if the development and teaching of an artificial intelligence outside of scientific research also involves the text and data mining of the performances of ENL members protected by related rights, then prior written permission (license) from ENL is required.
In case of obtaining a license and making the performance publicly available, the user of the performance is also obliged to notify, in a clear and machine-readable format, of the text and data mining reservation regarding the related rights of the actors represented by ENL. Such notification is necessary to avoid a situation where a third party could still use the protected performances for text and data mining without payment of a fee.
To obtain a license, please contact:
enliit@enliit.ee