Australia set for AI copyright fight as creatives fear 'existential' scraping threat
Copyright law is emerging as a key battleground in the fight between the global media and entertainment industries and AI platforms, and Australia is no exception.
Copyright law is emerging as a key battleground in the fight between the global media and entertainment industries and tech giants over the use of content in artificial intelligence platforms, and Australia is no exception.
Concerns about AI platforms dominated a series of copyright roundtables hosted by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus late last year held under Chatham House rules, weeks before the New York Times Company launched a landmark lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI over similar issues.
Attendees from the creative sector present at the roundtables who spoke to Capital Brief on the condition of anonymity to speak freely said tech firms with AI offerings are agitating for a carveout in Australia that would allow them to continue mining the content of creators without any constraints.
Such a carveout would pose an “existential threat” to all Australian companies in the business of content, media industry sources said. Instead, media companies want the government to clearly prohibit unauthorised scraping of their material, which would give them grounds to negotiate commercial agreements with AI firms.
