Is Copyright Law Up To The Challenge? DG Tang Keynote, 5 March 2024 As Delivered

First, of all the different types of IP rights – and as the DG of WIPO I am fully aware of the need to give my love equally to all types of IP – the copyright system has a much more intimate presence to us in our daily lives. [...] Already musicians are playing with the possibilities offered by AI – the Beatles released a new single “Now and Then”, which was made using AI, and the artiste Grimes has encouraged others to use AI to create new songs based on her catalog, on the condition that they are approved by her before release and that she gets a share of the royalties. [...] In fact, the copyright system has shown itself to be fully capable, since the 1970s of adjustments to technological changes so as to address each wave of tech-driven disruption, including in the WCT and WPPT in 1996, as well as a slew of domestic legislation, including the DMCA and EUCD in the 2000s, that laid the foundation for digitalization of content. [...] Third, as long as the copyright system continues to place the creator and the act of creative expression – which is so fundamental to human nature and spirit – at the center, this system will continue to be relevant, valued and useful. [...] Let us therefore support efforts to find a skillful balancing of the interests of content creators and the tech platforms and tools, so that AI empowers our creators and contributes to the overall long-term sustainability of the creative ecosystem.