UPDATE: This brief is a follow-up to our earlier coverage in “US vs. UK AI Copyright in 2026: Two Markets Reached Different Answers, Both Are Complicated.”
The UK government’s position on AI and copyright has shifted. According to available reporting, the government published a Copyright and Artificial Intelligence report on March 18, 2026, indicating it has moved away from its previously preferred policy option of creating a copyright exception that would have allowed AI developers to train on copyrighted material without licensing agreements.
The shift follows a 2024 public consultation in which creative industry stakeholders reportedly rejected the exception approach, according to available reporting. The government is now expected to gather further evidence before settling on an alternative framework.
“Gathering further evidence” is a procedural step, not a resolution. It means the UK’s AI copyright framework remains unsettled. AI developers operating in the UK market face continued uncertainty about what training on UK-hosted content requires.
For context: the US Copyright Office has ruled that AI-only works cannot receive copyright protection, and the EU’s AI Act omnibus proposal, covered separately today, introduces watermarking obligations for AI-generated content providers by November 2026. The UK is taking a third path, though that path isn’t yet defined.
Primary source confirmation is pending from the UK Intellectual Property Office or the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The full report should be available through gov.uk. All specific claims in this brief reflect available reporting and require source verification before the regulatory tracker row is published.