GenAI and Copyright Series
The UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation Law (IBIL) is actively exploring the impact of Generative AI (GenAI) on copyright law via a dedicated series of events, roundtables, lectures and publications
IBIL’s Generative AI and Copyright Lead is Dr Alina Trapova.
Contact Alina via email: A.Trapova@ucl.ac.uk or LinkedIn.
On this page, IBIL’s contribution to the debate is organised into four streams:
- Roundtables - chaired by Dr Alina Trapova
- Inputs - exploring copyright implications of content used in AI training, focusing on issues including infringement, text and data-mining exceptions, lawful access and licensing;
- Outputs - examining copyright issues around AI-generated outputs, from authorship and ownership to originality, and their integration into existing copyright frameworks, and
- Policy - addressing the legal challenges for AI and copyright, aiming to inform legislative reforms, policy-makers and to contribute to the development of best practices.
Click below to find out more about each stream.
Stakeholder roundtables feature as a regular part of IBIL’s Generative AI and Copyright series. Operating under Chatham House rules, these invitation-only meetings bring copyright academics together with key stakeholders to foster in-depth discussions and exchange of insights and expertise.
Next Roundtable:
TBC
Past Roundtables:
9 June 2026 - GenAI and publishing
4 March 2026 - GenAI and music. Read more about the discussion here.
21 October 2025 - GenAI and the visual arts. Read more about the discussion here.
14 May 2025 - GenAI and music.
10 February 2025 - GenAI and visual outputs.
19 November 2024 - Academic publishers and GenAI deals. Read more about the discussions here.
20 March 2024 - State of play of the key input issues.
20 March 2024
Public lecture: Copyright and Generative AI: Putting input issues under the spotlight
Panel: Toby Headdon, Bristows LLP; Dr João Pedro Quintais, Assistant Professor at IViR (Institute for Information Law) University of Amsterdam; Dr Ana Ramalho, Copyright Counsel at Google; Professor Tania Aplin, Kings College London (Chair).
22 January 2026
Current Legal Problems Series Public Lecture: Artificial Intelligence and the Trouble for Authorship: Towards a Legal Theory of Effort by Professor Johanna Gibson, Herchel Smith Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Queen Mary, University of London.
8 May 2022
Publication: Alina Trapova and Péter Mezei, 'Robojournalism - A Copyright Study on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the European News Industry' (2022) 71(7) GRUR International 589.
10 November 2020
Sir Hugh Laddie Annual Public Lecture 2020: 'Machina Sapiens: The Conflation of Natural and Artificial Creativity and Inventiveness' by Professor Daniel J. Gervais, Vanderbilt Law School, published as 'The Human Cause'.
25 November 2025
Dr Alina Trapova, Co-director of IBIL, gives evidence to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee last month, as part of their inquiry into copyright and AI.
- Watch a recording of the Communications and Digital Committee Meeting here.
25 February 2025
IBIL's Response to the UK Government's Consultation on Copyright and AI
5 August 2024
Publication: Enrico Bonadio and Alina Trapova, 'Intellectual Property Law in Gaming and Artificial Intelligence' in Chris Bevan (eds) Research Handbook on Property, Law and Theory (Edward Elgar, 2024).
20 June 2024
Sir Hugh Laddie Annual Public Lecture 2024: 'Artificial Intelligence and Collective Rights Management: the Future or the End?' by Gadi Oron, Director General, CISAC - available to view here.
9 May 2024
Public lecture: 'Uncovering the AI-Copyright Trap' by Dr Carys Craig, Osgoode Hall Law School - paper forthcoming in (2025) 100 Chicago-Kent Law Review, AI Disrupting Law Symposium, but for working draft, consult SSRN.
25 August 2023
Publication: Alina Trapova, 'AI as a vehicle for creativity in video games - any room for flexibility via contracts? A case study on AI Dungeon' in Simon Geiregat and Hendrik Vanhees (eds.) Copyright Contracts Tomorrow (LeA Uitgevers, 2023).
20 April 2023
Publication: Alina Trapova, 'Copyright for AI-generated works: a task for the internal market?' (2023) 48 European Law Review 187.
13 March 2026
Workshop on Generative AI and Copyright Law in conjunction with the UCL Generative AI Hub - by invite only.
4 March 2026
IBIL Annual Copyright Lecture - Music, Copyright, and Contracts in the Age of AI: Out of Tune or Perfect Harmony?
7 July 2025 - The Fair Remuneration of Creators as a Core Principle of the Copyright System: What Consequences for the Regulation of Generative AI? - presented by Professor Christophe Geiger, Professor of Law at Luiss Guido Carli University.
14 May 2025
IBIL Annual Copyright Lecture: Copyright Law and AI: Time to Revisit Copyright Registration?
Panel: James Bennett, Head of Rightsholder Relations, Copyright Licensing Agency and Professor Martin Senftleben, Director of the Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam. Available to view here.
Join our roundtables
If you are a stakeholder and would be interested in participating in a future roundtable, then please register your interest by completing the form here.
Current AI-related litigation
Keep up to date with current litigation with the Mishcon de Reya case tracker.
Future events
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Past events
Watch recordings of many of IBIL’s past public events on the IBIL YouTube Channel.
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