2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for copyright and AI — nowhere more so than in the EU and the UK.

From the Voss Report and a potential reopening of key provisions of the EU Copyright Directive, to the UK’s retreat from a broad AI training exception, France’s proposal to shift the burden of proof to AI developers, and the ongoing debate over extraterritorial application of EU copyright law, significant changes may be on the horizon for rights holders and developers alike.

In parallel, the London and Munich Courts have handed down landmark rulings in late 2025, in Getty v Stability and GEMA v Open AI. 2026 will see appeals of those decisions and rulings in further test cases which will shape the frontier between developers and rights holders.

We hope you’ll join our esteemed panelists — Toby Bond (Partner, Bird & Bird, London), Dr. Lutz Riede (Partner, Freshfields, Vienna), and Dr. Barry Scannell (Partner, William Fry, Dublin) — as they discuss the current UK and EU landscape and its implications for stakeholders on all sides of the copyright × AI debate.