Australia Rejects AI Copyright Exception: Victory for Creatives

Australia rejects tech firms' plea for AI training copyright exception. Protects artists & authors' rights, defying tech execs' call for US/EU-style 'fair use'. A win for Australian creatives.

Tech Execs Push for AI Copyright Change

None were swayed by pro-AI and anti-copyright disagreements from tech execs like Scott Farquhar, a cofounder of the software application firm Atlassian and currently chair of the Tech Council of Australia. In an address to the National Press Club in July, Farquhar described himself as a “tech optimist” and promoted for changes in the country’s copyright laws to be much more like those in the USA and Europe, which “have fair use exceptions for message and information mining.”

Creative Industry Backlash

The proposal faced immediate reaction from a large range of Australian creatives, from First Nations rap artist Adam Briggs and writer Anna Funder to the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Recording Sector Organization, according to the Guardian.

Fixing this, he suggested, “might open billions of dollars of international investment into Australia.” In the meantime, at the very least, those billions of bucks will certainly have to come at the expense of a person besides Australian designers and their hard-earned copyright.

Government Rejects Copyright Exception

On Monday, Michelle Rowland, the attorney general of Australia, verified the federal government’s choice stopping tech companies from utilizing message and data mining in order to train artificial intelligence designs. The decision comes after a team of tech firms supported for a change in Australia’s Copyright Act, as reported by Signboard. The choice is a win for musicians, authors, artist, and various other creatives.