Ilianna Antoniou, AUTODIA's Director of Communication and International Relations, represented Greece. The discussions focused on the future of authors' rights in Europe, especially in the era of AI, highlighting the pivotal role of collective management.
Key legislative initiatives were presented, including the recent proposal in France to establish a presumption of use for protected works by GenAI systems. Senator Laure Darcos, Vice-President of the French Senate's Culture Committee and the inspiration behind the project, joined the event to present the rationale and history of this initiative, which is scheduled for approval by the French National Assembly on June 11th.
Meanwhile, on June, 2nd, the Cultural Affairs Committee of the National Assembly adopted the "Darcos" bill, a fact marking a milestone in the ongoing process.
Furthermore, Emmanuelle Du Chalard, Head of the Copyright Unit at the European Commission's DG CONNECT (Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology), shared her perspectives and outlined the priorities for authors' rights in the upcoming period.
The event featured dedicated panels with CEOs of European CMOs, who collectively underscored the urgent need for a cohesive and ambitious European framework. This framework, they stressed, must ensure robust rights protection, fair remuneration, transparency, and the visibility and traceability of works, particularly in the context of streaming services and GenAI.
On the sidelines of the GESAC General Assembly, an in-person meeting was also organized for the members of the GESAC PACOM (Public Affairs & Communication Committee). The meeting focused on exchanging updates from each territory regarding authors' rights and GenAI. Ms. Antoniou represented AUTODIA for Greece in this session.