BRUSSELS - The Business Software Alliance (BSA) flags that companies have been left with too little time to assess compliance with the obligations, as new EU obligations for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models take effect on Saturday, 2 August.

An active contributor throughout the development of the AI Act, BSA acknowledged the significance of the milestone but highlighted that, until the release of the GPAI Guidelines on July 18, many companies had no way to determine whether the August 2 obligations applied to them. 

“The rules are now live, but the late release of the Code and the guidelines has created unnecessary difficulties for many companies to fully assess compliance,” said Hadrien Valembois, Director of Policy – EMEA at BSA. “Enterprise software providers are working in good faith to meet their obligations, but when guidance lands days before a legal deadline, with no grace period, it creates avoidable uncertainty. We encourage the Commission to take the limited implementation window into account when it comes to its enforcement powers.”

While BSA supports the AI Act’s goal of fostering trustworthy AI, the final compliance framework, including the Code of Practice, the GPAI Guidelines, and the Data Training Summary Template, was only released in the second part of July, giving enterprise software providers minimal time to assess compliance with requirements and adjust.

The Code of Practice includes several welcome improvements, such as better alignment with the scope of the AI Act or stronger protections for intellectual property and trade secrets. However, provisions in the chapters on copyright and systemic risk remain complex and burdensome. 

The Guidelines rely on a training compute threshold to define GPAI models, which BSA has consistently flagged as legally uncertain and operationally unstable, given the necessity of updating it time and again to reflect the evolution of the AI technology, particularly for companies adapting models for narrow enterprise use. 

The Data Training Summary Template, while improved from the earlier draft, still demands a level of detail that may be impractical to disclose, despite new provisions acknowledging the need to protect confidential business information.

BSA remains committed to working with the European Commission, the AI Office, and other stakeholders to support effective, balanced implementation of the EU AI Act.