There are a number of reasons, that include:
Licensing complements advocacy
Copyright Agency is licensing the use of copyright materials to support ethical use of AI tools in Australia. This is in accordance with the existing copyright legislation.
At the same time, Copyright Agency is advocating, with others, for a new law that would compensate Australians for the use of their works for AI training in other countries (principally the US).
Opportunity to work with businesses on AI policies
Our market research shows that a large proportion of staff in businesses are already using a range of AI tools, but that a much lower proportion of businesses have AI policies in place (at least that their staff are aware of).
The Annual Business Licence extension to staff use of AI tools provides an opportunity for Copyright Agency to work with business on policies that facilitate legal use of other people’s content, and communication of those policies to the business’s staff.
Big tech companies want copyright watered down
Multinational AI developers want to water down Australia’s copyright framework.
Their arguments include:
- Australia’s Copyright Act is holding back local innovation
- copyright licensing cannot work
The Annual Business Licence extension to staff use of AI tools is an example of how licensing can work in Australia.
Licensing for businesses has started overseas
A licence has been launched in the US, and is in development in a range of other countries including the UK and Germany.
Author organisations support licensing
The Australian Society of Authors supports licensing for ethical AI activity in Australia.
Licensing is also supported by author organisations overseas such as:
- US Authors Guild: AI Licensing: What Authors Should Know
- UK Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS): Our statement on AI and licensing
Value of AI activity
Licensing indicates that there is a separate value for AI-related activity.
There is an opportunity for Australian creators to benefit from this value, where it is ethical and imposes reasonable limitations on use to protect their interests.
Establish conditions for ethical uses of AI tools
A ‘Yes, with conditions’ position enables creators to establish conditions for the ethical and acceptable use of their work, such as fair compensation.
Court cases will take a long time to resolve
There are more than 30 court cases on AI, nearly all in the US (here). These will take years to resolve, as there have not yet been any substantive first instance decisions, and many of them are likely to be appealed. In any event, the court cases relate to the application of US law in the US.
Copyright Agency and others have asked the Australian Government to introduce stand-alone legislation that would compensate Australians for the use of their works in training AI models offshore.
It is important to establish licensing expectations now so that infringing conduct in Australia does not become the “norm”.
Introducing a compensation mechanism for offshore training and licensing for legitimate activity in Australia can happen in parallel.
November 2024
Share Tweet