The European Commission has launched a call for evidence on targeted measures to modernise the EU copyright framework, with generative AI at the centre. It is asking, in plain terms, how rights should be licensed and enforced in the context of generative AI — and has put a potential legislative initiative squarely on the table.

The contest between content owners and AI developers is shifting out of the courtroom and into the statute book, in the jurisdiction whose rules tend to become everyone’s rules. The question is no longer whether training data carries a price. It is who sets it, and who captures the value.

For IP-intensive organisations, this is a window, not merely a warning. The businesses that come out ahead will not be the ones waiting for a final text; they will be the ones already treating data provenance, rights reservations and licensing posture as strategic assets.

Three moves are worth considering now.

First, know your position — most companies are at once a licensor of content and a licensee of training data, and those roles pull in opposite directions; decide which one drives more value for you, and act on it.

Second, document provenance and reservations rigorously, because in a licensing market that is forming rather than formed, clean records are leverage.

Third, engage the consultation — rules under construction can still be shaped, and silence cedes that ground to competitors who show up.

The deeper lesson is one IP strategists keep relearning: regulatory uncertainty is not a reason to wait. It is precisely the moment disciplined IP strategy earns its keep, turning a looming compliance cost into a defensible competitive position. When the rules of the game are being rewritten, the smart players help hold the pen.

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Sources

• European Commission, Commission seeks views on the review of EU copyright rules (18 May 2026): https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-seeks-views-review-eu-copyright-rules
• European Commission call for evidence portal, A better copyright environment for European creativity and innovation: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/18173-Targeted-initiative-for-a-better-copyright-environment-for-European-creativity-and-innovation-_en
• IPWatchdog, Other Barks & Bites (22 May 2026): https://ipwatchdog.com/2026/05/22/bites-barks-eu-call-for-evidence-targets-generative-ais-impact-copyright/
• Jones Day, Navigating Copyright in the Age of Generative AI: EU, French and UK Developments: https://www.jonesday.com/en/insights/2026/05/navigating-copyright-in-the-age-of-generative-ai-eu-french-and-uk-developments-and-approaches