The government on Tuesday adopted guiding principles on intellectual property protection for generative artificial intelligence operators, calling on such businesses to disclose an outline of data and methods used to train their AI tools.
The Principles Code, while not legally binding, is designed to boost transparency related to AI and promote both the protection of intellectual property rights and innovation amid the rapidly spreading use of the cutting-edge technology.
Businesses that accept all or part of the code will notify the government and disclose the learning processes, types of learning data and methods of collecting such data for their generative AI models on their websites.
They will make public whether the learning data includes information that could lead to copyright infringement if so requested by AI users and rights holders, provided certain conditions are met.
The code covers not only domestic businesses but also overseas operators that provide AI systems and services in Japan.
There are growing concerns that texts, images and other materials are being used by generative AI for learning without permission, potentially resulting in intellectual property rights violations.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Kimi Onoda, minister for intellectual property strategy, said that the government will respond appropriately, including considering taking further measures.