Copyright compliance and generative AI in legal practice – 5 key takeaways from CLA’s latest webinar

October 22, 2025 By Taylor Macdonald

As content sharing becomes more digital and AI tools enter the legal workplace, many professionals are asking: how can we stay compliant while working efficiently?

In our latest webinar, CLA’s Alan Benny and Madeleine Pow-Jones explored how the CLA Law Licence supports lawful content reuse in legal settings, and how new workplace generative AI permissions are helping firms navigate the rise of generative AI.

With over 80 legal professionals joining live and three interactive polls throughout the session, we gained valuable insight into how the sector is adapting, and where support is still needed.

Here are five key takeaways

1. Content sharing is widespread, but there’s risk

Legal professionals rely heavily on published content to stay informed, collaborate, and deliver value to clients. From legal journals and case law to press coverage and training materials, content sharing is part of the daily workflow. However, CLA’s recent survey revealed that 81% of workplace content is digital, and many professionals are reusing it without fully understanding the copyright implications.

This knowledge gap was reflected in our opening poll: while 63% of attendees said their organisation holds a CLA Law Licence, a significant portion, nearly 30%, either weren’t sure or had never heard of it. That uncertainty can lead to unintentional copyright infringement, especially when content is shared internally under the assumption that it’s “safe.”

2. The CLA Law Licence offers clarity and confidence

For those who are covered, the CLA Law Licence offers peace of mind. It enables firm-wide compliance, covering millions of titles and supporting governance and ESG frameworks. It also fills the gaps left by other systems, such as legal databases that may only cover named users or specific titles.

For those unsure whether they’re covered, or how to make the most of their licence, the session offered a timely reminder of the practical protections it provides.

The takeaway? If your team is sharing content regularly, the Law Licence isn’t just helpful, it’s essential.

3. Generative AI is already embedded in legal workflows

When asked how they’re using generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini, attendees shared a wide range of applications, from summarising documents and meetings to drafting emails, analysing legislation, translating or rephrasing content, and even reviewing internal policies. Others noted they’re using AI cautiously, citing concerns about hallucinations or data confidentiality.

The responses painted a clear picture: generative AI is no longer a future trend, it’s already part of the legal toolkit.

This aligns with CLA’s broader findings: 82% of AI users are inputting third-party content into prompts, often without considering copyright. This can be a risk, especially in legal settings where accuracy and compliance are non-negotiable.

4. New Workplace Generative AI permissions support smarter, safer use

To meet this need, CLA has introduced new Workplace Generative AI permissions under the Law Licence (effective from 1 May 2025). These allow professionals to use opted-in published content in permitted generative AI tools (those that don’t use prompts to train their underlying models) for tasks like:

Summarising legal reports
Drafting standard documents
Analysing industry-specific information

These permissions are already included for organisations whose licences renewed after May 2025. For others, early access is available, ensuring that legal teams can innovate confidently, without compromising on compliance.

Bonus: Free training to support responsible use of generative AI at work

To help professionals put these new permissions into practice, CLA has launched a FREE, 10 minute CPD-certified short course: Workplace Generative AI Permissions Course. This bitesize course is designed to help you:

Understand the new permissions in your updated CLA Licence
Learn how to use published content responsibly with generative AI tools
Support compliance and governance by avoiding copyright infringement

The course is open to anyone and forms part of CLA’s broader Copyright in the Workplace course. It is a practical next step for teams looking to embed compliant generative AI use into their workflows.

5. In-house AI development is on the rise, but many are still exploring

Looking ahead, CLA is developing a Generative AI Training Licence, in partnership with ALCS and PLS, to will cover the use of opted-in published works for the training of generative AI products and services, fine-tuning or further training of generative AI tools on a specific set of content, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).

When we asked attendees about their organisation’s plans, the responses were mixed:

23% are already developing or using in-house AI tools
18% are exploring options
But 30% said they were unsure, with 25% saying they have no plans at all

This shows a sector in transition, and this mix of readiness and uncertainty highlights the need for accessible licensing solutions that support innovation while protecting rightsholders.

Missed the webinar?

You can still catch the full session on demand, including deeper insights into how the CLA Law Licence and updated permissions help the UK legal sector stay compliant while unlocking the benefits of generative AI at work.

Request the on-demand webinar now