Generative AI, UK Copyright and Open Licences: considerations for UK HEI copyright advice services

With the enormous growth in interest and use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems seen since the launch of ChatGPT in autumn 2022 have come questions both about the legal status of AI outputs, and of using protected works as training inputs. It is inevitable that UK higher education institution (HEI) library copyright advice services will see an increase in questions around use of works with AI as a result. Staff working in such library services are not lawyers or able to offer legal advice to their academic researchers. Nonetheless, they must look at the issues raised, consider how to advise in analogous situations of using copyright material, and offer opinion to researchers accordingly. While the legal questions remain to be answered definitively, copyright librarians can still offer advice on both open licences and use of copyright material under permitted exceptions. We look here at how library services can address questions on copyright and open licences for generative AI for researchers in UK HEIs.