What does "fair" actually mean in AI content licensing? There's real tension in the industry right now. Lawsuits are pending. Publishers feel taken advantage of. Tech companies are under pressure. Everyone's trying to figure out how to build something sustainable.
I keep coming back to three concepts that I think are essential: Trust, capability, and reward. These aren't just nice ideas. They're the foundation for any AI content licensing ecosystem that's going to work long-term.
The world of AI requires that publishers become more like tech companies and that tech companies become more like publishers. Each needs to learn from the other.
Trust: The foundation that we need
Fundamentally, this is a question of trust. And right now, we have a trust deficit.
Many publishers feel that tech platforms have used their content to train their AI models in ways that are questionable at best and maybe illegal depending on how various lawsuits play out. But beyond the legal question, there's a basic issue of norms and working relationships. In order to gain a competitive edge in the development of their AI models, some tech companies felt pressured to pull content into their systems without being in conversation with publishers. As a result, many publishers feel that they were blindsided and overlooked.
That's the first hurdle we need to overcome. It's a problematic start to any relationship. But there are opportunities. We're working with tech platforms that recognize the importance of these partnerships, not only because it's the right thing to do but because it also makes the product better. Some platforms are making it part of their brand promise to only work with publishers who have signed license agreements, either directly or through intermediaries like Newstex.That's a meaningful commitment. It's about treating intellectual property with the respect it deserves.
Capability: Learning from each other
The second pillar is capability.
The world of AI requires that publishers become more like tech companies and that tech companies become more like publishers. Each needs to learn from the other.
Publishers need to speak the language of technology and invest in tech resources to format content in ways that work for AI applications. You can't just hand over raw content anymore. You need to understand platform requirements and deliver accordingly.
Tech companies need to reciprocate. They need to understand what it means to work with copyrighted material, to think more like publishers when it comes to editorial process, content value, and the economics of creation.
The Economist is a good example. They have their own AI lab now, generating applications and developing new forms of content optimized for AI. That's exactly what publishers need to be doing to participate meaningfully in this ecosystem.
This isn't about being collaborative in some abstract sense. It's structural. The ecosystem doesn't work if both sides don't develop these capabilities.
If publishers invest in becoming tech-capable by producing machine-readable versions of their content and by offering richer sets of metadata, this will make a significant difference in how rewards are distributed. Capability investments directly impact reward outcomes."
Reward: The unanswered question
The third pillar is reward. How is value generated, and how do we equitably share in it?
This is largely unanswered. And it won't really be resolved until we figure out the capability side.
Here's the logic: Your level of contribution should determine your compensation. If a publisher isn't prepared to adopt the technologies that are necessary for AI, tech companies will need to fill the gap and may begin to think that publishers deserve a smaller share of the potential rewards. Publishers have to show their worth to tech companies.
If publishers invest in becoming tech-capable by producing machine-readable versions of their content and by offering richer sets of metadata, which better enables tech companies to use publishers’ content in the creation and deployment of AI software, this will make a significant difference in how rewards are distributed. Capability investments directly impact reward outcomes. That's how we create a sustainable ecosystem.
Why all three must work together
These three pillars are interconnected.
You can't have fair reward without capability. If you're not bringing value through technical competence, it's hard to argue for a larger share. You can't build capability without trust. Publishers won't invest in new technologies if they don't believe platforms will respect their contributions. And trust itself requires demonstrating capability and fair reward.
The framework as a whole creates a path to sustainability, but all three elements have to develop together.
These three pillars are interconnected. You can't have fair reward without capability. If you're not bringing value through technical competence, it's hard to argue for a larger share. You can't build capability without trust.
Building the path forward
At Newstex, we're working to facilitate all three pillars. We build trust through transparent licensing terms and partnerships with platforms committed to fair practices. We help publishers develop capability by standardizing content for AI applications. And we're actively working toward fair reward structures that recognize the value independent publishers bring to the ecosystem.
There are many challenges ahead. If we focus on trust, capability, and reward, and recognize how they connect to each other, we can build something that works for everyone involved.
About the author,
Michael Ellis
