Why this survey, why now?The European Union is evaluating the copyright rules laid down in the DSM Directive, the European copyright law from 2019. This law includes rules on how AI companies may use copyrighted visual material when training their models.
The outcome of this evaluation is important for you as a visual creator or representative of a visual creator. It determines whether and how you can object to this use — for example through
Opt Out Now! — and whether you are entitled to compensation. In addition, the same directive requires social media platforms to obtain a licence for the use of professional visual material on their platforms (
#eerlijkdelensocialmedia).
Your voice matters
Federatie Beeldrechten represents you as a visual creator in the revision of the DSM Directive. What you fill in in this survey helps us in our lobbying efforts to help shape how big tech companies may use your work in the future, and how well-positioned organisations like Pictoright are to actually enforce those rules.
In this survey we ask about four topics; completing it takes approximately 15 minutes:
• Yourself and your work
• Experience with generative AI (GenAI)
• The effect of GenAI on your income and work
• Your views on fair use of your images
The survey can be completed until 3 May 2026.You can also complete the survey if you know very little about GenAI or have little experience with it. It helps us to know how large this group of visual creators is and how they view this topic. For many questions, a "Don't know" option is therefore available.
Important: There are different types of AI. In this survey we specifically focus on Generative AI, or GenAI. GenAI is software that can create new content on its own — such as texts, images, music or videos — based on a prompt you type in. This software has been trained on vast amounts of existing material. We will explain GenAI and related concepts further throughout the survey.
Have you previously completed a similar survey? We ask you to complete it again — only with up-to-date data can we make a strong case in Brussels.
Questions and comments about this survey can be emailed to: federatiebeeldrechten@pictoright.nl
Federatie Beeldrechten is a collaborative partnership between the copyright collecting society Pictoright and the seven professional associations that represent the interests of visual creators. Within the federation, they work together to improve the copyright position of these creators.