Russia proposed banning the monetization of songs created by AI

According to Danilov, Russian law allows copyright protection only for songs created by humans. At the same time, creators of neurocovers (works created by AI in the style of a real performer) can receive monetization for them on streaming services. The NFMI estimated the lost profits of the artists whose voices “sang” the songs generated at 3.5 billion rubles per year.

Yandex and Sber did not agree with the position of the NFMI. The head of Yandex’s intellectual property and IT legal department, Sergei Kalashnikov, highlighted that AI is a tool for creativity and Russian legislation enshrines the presumption of protectability. Sofia Fokina, head of the Center for People-Centric AI at Sberbank, agreed that AI is a means to “express creative intent.”

A Kommersant source in one of the broadcasts noted that at the current stage of AI development, a person “is the client of the work and acts as its de facto creator, while neural networks cannot create anything on their own from zero”.

Lawyers interviewed by the newspaper admitted that the question of the legal definition of the creativity of neural networks is debatable. “Neurocovers, in theory, can be classified as a derived phonogram, and then, if creativity is involved in its production, the ‘neurophonogram’ can retain its protective capacity,” said Ekaterina Abashina, a lawyer at the First Moscow Digital Bar Association. .

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In early April, some 200 international artists signed an open letter asking AI developers and technology companies to “respect the rights of human artists” and not use their work without permission. The initiative had the support of Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Stevie Wonder and other musicians.