The Development of Generative Artificial Intelligence from a Copyright Perspective

Over the past number of years Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have undergone major advances, most notably with the release of Large Language Models and Generative AI (GenAI) systems. GenAI services that generate text, code, images, videos, and audio content are now widely available. This has led policymakers and regulators to examine how existing legal frameworks should evolve to address the implications of large-scale AI adoption, and to balance innovation with intellectual property (IP) protection. This study explores the developments in GenAI from the perspective of EU copyright law. It is structured around three main components, (1) a technical, legal and economic analysis to further understand the functionality of GenAI and the implications of its development, as well as a detailed examination of copyright-related issues regarding the (2) use of content in GenAI services development and the (3) generation of content.