Copyright Licence for Businesses

It’s easy to breach copyright laws by inadvertently copying and sharing content without permission. Most text and visual works are covered by copyright. If your employees copy and share text and/or images that were created by others, they’ll usually need permission from the copyright owner to do so.

Text and images protected by copyright may include:

• news and magazine articles
• journal articles
• books
• conference papers, research reports
• website content

Research conducted by independent market research agency FiftyFive5* shows that:

• 2 out of 3 white collar workers access published content in their role, often downloading, copying and shared it
• 64% of white-collar workers use GenAI tools
• 59% copy and paste news items into AI prompts
• 83% cite compliance and risk as key concerns
• 59% would have greater peace of mind if their organisation had a copyright licence that allowed use of third-party content in AI tools for work
• Millions of potential copyright infringements happen each year in Australian businesses

What is a Business Licence?

Copyright Agency’s Business Licence is a blanket licence that providers organisations with permission to copy, store, share and use published content without needing to obtain permissions from individual copyright owners.

The licence covers common workplace activities involving third-party content, including:

• organisation-wide copying and internal sharing rights for digital, online and print content, including newspapers, magazines, journals, books, websites and other published works
• use of Australian newspaper and selected licensed content in GenAI tools and workflows
• sharing Australian newspaper content and AI-generated outputs externally
• use of AI-generated outputs in internal and external reporting, communications and collaboration workflows, including summaries, briefings, white papers and partner communications
• use of third-party content in staff training, education and internal knowledge-sharing activities
• storage and sharing of published content for regulatory, compliance and record-keeping purposes
• additional rights beyond media monitoring licences, including content copied directly from websites and other published sources

Unlock the use of trusted content in GenAI

Generative AI tools are now part of everyday business workflows. Employees commonly upload documents, paste articles into prompts and use AI-generated outputs in communications.

The Business Licence enables organisations to use high-quality published content in GenAI tools, with permissions in place to support compliant AI use.

• Use Australian newspaper content in GenAI tools
• Use selected journal, book and trade publication content
• Share AI-generated outputs internally and externally

Why organisations use the licence

• One agreement covering millions of published works
• Supports responsible and compliant use of content in GenAI tools
• Reduces copyright and governance risk associated with content sharing and AI workflows
• Avoids the need to negotiate permissions with individual copyright owners
• Helps protect organisational reputation through ethical and compliant content use
• Supports efficient business workflows involving published content

*FiftyFive5 research on third party-content and GenAI use
**This fact sheet is a guide only. Limitations apply to website and social media use of outputs. Refer to the licence agreement for full terms and conditions.

For independent information on copyright, please visit the Australian Copyright Council website: copyright.org.au

The Federal Government also provides some guidance for businesses who use copyright materials:
Attorney General’s Department
Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS)

Download the guide

Establish Good Copyright Governance

A Copyright Licence is a simple solution to ensure your organisation is practising Good Copyright Governance. It enables staff members to communicate content-rich material in real time while being confident no one’s copyright is being infringed. All Copyright Agency licensees can promote their organisation as a supporter of Australian creators by incorporating the Good Copyright Governance tick across their promotional channels.