Active advocacy work to update the Copyright Act
In our advocacy work, we have given particular emphasis to the need to update the Copyright Act so that the Finnish creative industry can grow in the midst of technological disruptions, such as the rapid development of artificial intelligence. The funding of the compensation system for private copying needs to move away from budget funding and be reformed, the collective licensing of copyrights needs to be strengthened, and copyright organisations need to be given the right to represent authors in legal proceedings.
A report by Kristiina Harengo, published by the Ministry of Education and Culture at the beginning of the year, also proposed a swift reform of the compensation system. According to the report, Finland’s current budget-funded system is in breach of EU law.
We presented the importance of the compensation for private copying to decision-makers at two ‘AVEK presents’
events. In these presentations, we explained the impact of the grants offered by AVEK, which is part of Kopiosto, with examples from recent documentary films and speeches by the Director of AVEK and film directors. Together with the rest of the audiovisual industry, we opposed the cuts to the Finnish Film Foundation’s funds and the DigiDemo and CreaDemo grants distributed by AVEK, which were later withdrawn.
Another joint industry effort was the introduction of a payment obligation for streaming services, made possible by the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), to support Finnish content production. The good news was that, in the autumn budget session, the Government decided to introduce the payment obligation in Finland and set up a working group to prepare the matter.
AVEK’s support activities reduced significantly as compensation is halved
The drastic cut to AVEK’s source of funding, the compensation for private copying, was reflected in the number of projects supported in 2025. In recent years, AVEK has supported an average of 140 works per year, but after the funds were halved, only 40 works received support last year. In addition to this, the national funds allocated by the Kopiosto Board of Directors to promote projects in the Finnish creative industry made it possible to support the writing or production of 31 works with a personal project grant.
The fixed-term employment contract of Media Art Commissioner Milla Moilanen (interview in Finnish) came to an end at the end of the year. Due to funding cuts, AVEK will be operating with only three permanent employees from the beginning of 2026. Going forward, the Director of AVEK will coordinate the decision-making process for media art applications, and external experts will be brought in to make the decisions.
AVEK and the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Kehittämö project received EUR 150,000 as “Christmas gift funds” (in Finnish) when the Finance Committee published their budget proposal for 2026. The continuation of the project was at risk due to the cuts affecting AVEK’s operations. The Christmas gift funds will cover AVEK’s share of the project for another year.
Photo: From the Yle series Lindan huone, cinematography by Kerttu Hakkarainen.
Use of materials in AI applications included in the copying licence for companies
Companies and organisations are widely using content created by others in their AI prompts. Entering copyrighted content into an AI is copying, which requires a licence from the author or copyright holder.
We have developed our copying licence for companies so that, starting from the beginning of this year, you can enter copyrighted material into AI applications under certain conditions. Our licensing solutions have been developed together with our member organisations representing the creative industry.
With this extension, the price of the copying licence will increase over the next two years. As usual, we will pay the accrued remunerations to the creative industry.
We listened to the authors’ wishes for better communication
In 2025, we developed our communication on remunerations for audiovisual professionals. Every year, we pay copyright remunerations for the use of TV programmes to around 10,000 audiovisual professionals.
The development measures are based on a survey that we conducted in 2024 to assess how satisfied audiovisual authors are with our customer service. The audiovisual professionals wished for more active and transparent communication on payments and the principles of the distribution of remunerations.
Based on the wishes expressed in the survey, we launched a new customer newsletter to provide authors with more up-to-date information on the progress of the distribution of remunerations. We also updated the section on audiovisual authors on our website.
We surveyed the creative industry’s views on AI: lack of clear rules causes concern
In early summer, we carried out a survey on the views, experiences and attitudes of creative professionals, performing artists and publishers towards AI (in Finnish). We presented the results of the survey and discussed the impact of AI on the creative industry in a webinar that we organised in October.
Many professionals in the industry use AI as a tool in their creative work, but there are concerns about copyright issues. Works by creative professionals and other copyright holders have been used without permission to train AI without paying proper compensation. In fact, 86% of the survey respondents want decision-makers to address the challenges of AI and set clear rules for the use of copyrighted content in the development of AI.
The implementation of the EU AI Act has so far been a disappointment for the creative industry. Measures required by the Act, such as ensuring transparency, were undermined, and the guidelines for AI companies remain inadequate.
In June, we outlined the principles for the responsible use of AI together with other Nordic copyright organisations. We also participate in the development of EU AI regulation by working through organisations such as the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO). In the autumn, our CEO, Valtteri Niiranen, was elected as the First Vice President of the IFRRO Board.
Our first Sustainability Report: strengthening knowledge and moving towards carbon neutrality
We published our first Sustainability Report (in Finnish), outlining the concrete actions that we have taken between 2023 and 2024 to advance our sustainability programme. Through our sustainability programme, we aim to have a long-term, positive impact on our stakeholders and the environment in which we operate.
We have set an environmental objective of carbon neutrality by 2030, and in 2025 we calculated our carbon footprint for the first time. The main challenges to achieving carbon neutrality are outdated technology and premises that are too large for our staff numbers – both of which we are working to phase out. We have also improved recycling in the office, prioritised vegetarian food at our events and cut down on work-related travel.
Over the past couple of years, our social responsibility has been reflected in our investments in employee well-being and in strengthening communication skills. For instance, our supervisors underwent workplace communication training in 2023, and we launched a project to develop customer and expert communication in 2024. Stakeholder relations have been strengthened through surveys to improve our employees’ understanding of the needs and wishes of our stakeholders.
Kopiraittila provides information about copyright for library professionals
We collaborated with library professionals to create the Kopiraittila website (in Finnish and Swedish), which provides practical and clear guidance on how to respect copyright in library work. We wanted to provide an accessible tool for libraries to find answers to copyright issues that arise in their daily work. The website helps library personnel to understand what kind of use of works requires a licence, where to obtain a licence and what kind of licences are already in use in libraries.
