Spain: Ministry of Culture closes consultation on draft Royal Decree to introduce Extended Collective Licensing (ECL) for the use of copyrighted works in Artificial Intelligence training

On 10 December 2024, the Ministry of Culture closes its consultation on a draft Royal Decree to introduce Extended Collective Licensing (ECL) for the use of copyrighted works in Artificial Intelligence training. The proposal, based on Article 12 of Directive (EU) 2019/790 on Copyright and Related Rights in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive), would allow collective management organisations to grant non-exclusive licences for works whose rightholders have not individually authorised their use. The draft sets out conditions for licensing, including opt-out provisions for rightholders, requirements for collective management organisations to demonstrate representativeness, and obligations for users of licensed content. The decree defines the scope, duration and obligations of licensees, sets transparency and public notification requirements, and establishes compliance measures to protect the economic interests of rights holders while facilitating the development of AI technologies. If adopted, the decree would regulate the reproduction and extraction of protected works for the training and development of general-purpose AI models.