AI at the IPG Spring Conference 2025; Where next for AI and copyright?
This February’s IPG Spring Conference saw delegates from across the independent publishing world turn out to the Shaw Theatre London to hear industry leaders reflecting on the most pressing issues and updates in the industry, and the big topic for this year’s Conference: Going for Growth.
PLS are delighted to support this important event as silver sponsors, and sponsors of the IPG Spring Conference Dinner. This year the dinner was held atThe Brasserie at St Pancras by Searcys.
“Ed Newton-Rex, Will Crook and George Walkley brought the house down at the IPG Conference with their defence of basic publishing principles and analysis of the pressures we face in an age of rapid technological change” - BookBrunch, Publishing Aligned on Copyright and AI at the IPG 2025 Spring Conference
Discussing how AI and creatives compete and collaborate, how perspectives on AI in publishing has evolved, and the legal and financial implications of the government’s AI and copyright consultation, Ed Newton-Rex, Will Crook and George Walkley posed the question on everyone’s mind: where next for AI and copyright?
As it stands, content is being appropriated by AI developers in an unsustainable and unfair fashion, often without licence and renumeration. Ed Newton-Rex's position has been clear throughout his career; AI must be trained on fairly licensed data and content creation and publication procedures should uphold Intellectual Property principals and policies.
“Creative industries are fighting back” - tech and AI expert Ed Newton-Rex
In a very public campaign, on 25th February publishers in the room and across the UK had shown a united front, expressing the same message from creatives advocating for a fairer approach to training AI: Make It Fair.
“As an industry we are aligned” - Will Crook, Head of Policy and Communication, Publishers’ Licensing Services
The fronts of newspapers and press and publisher social media accounts internationally ran the bold headline, parallel to the deadline for responses to the proposed AI and copyright exception.
While paying for engineers, software, servers, etc., there’s no basis for asking for (or taking) content for free. Certain AI companies wasted no time in scraping and utilising content without permission or payment.
Copyright and licensing are often a concern in questions of finances, but the financial and creative health of the industry, both now and into the future, hinges on upholding copyright law and implementing fair AI regulation.
So, where next?
Publishers’ Licensing Services is advocating for “option 1.5” solution, of the current Labour government’s proposed policy options (0-3). We need to see transparency about what content is used to train AI models alongside the law of copyright being upheld.
While publishers and the creative industries must continue to make their voices hears, “there are a lot of questions [the government ] is yet to answer” - Will Crook. The industry awaits the government’s response.
Read more about the IPG Spring Conference here:
