CRA responds to the AI Growth Lab consultation
7th January 2026
Today we submitted our response to the Government’s Call for Evidence on the AI Growth Lab proposals. We agree with the Government’s position that intellectual property rights should not be modified or dis-applied in the Lab.
Property rights such as IP rights should not be suspended, regardless of promised innovation benefits. Copyright law is an intellectual property (IP) right, not regulatory red tape. It protects the fundamental economic rights of creators to control and benefit from their work. International IP treaties, which the UK is a signatory to, also constrain the flexibility of copyright law.
Copyright law should not be overridden for temporary sandboxes. The damage done to creators through unauthorised and unpaid use of their work is irreversible and irreparable. Even if copyright law is overridden temporarily, copyright-protected works used in a sandbox environment become permanently embedded in a broader AI model and may continue to generate competitive outputs.
Copyright isn't a barrier to innovation. Developing AI models based on the unauthorised use of work is not innovation; it is value extraction from creative workers who already face precarious incomes and uncertain futures. Copyright is requiring AI developers to operate under the same IP law as everyone else. AI developers can (and many do) license content, use data from public domain works or license original works from authorised rightsholders. It is only a perceived barrier to the tech companies who want free access to, and control over, IP works.
The UK’s world-leading, gold standard copyright law has lasted centuries and throughout previous technological innovations. It continues to be relevant and applicable today, as proven by the many AI developers who are creating successful, innovative AI technologies that respect the law.
The AI Growth Lab should not be used as a policy opportunity to weaken copyright law that would in essence subsidise overseas tech companies at the expense of the UK’s vital creative industries.
