'Copyright Plus' proposes a fairer deal for creators in the age of AI
UNSW Sydney
A proposed framework called Copyright Plus aims to give Australian creators a fairer deal – without turning back the clock on AI.
Putting a painting, a song or a story online should not mean surrendering it to an AI company. Yet for many Australian creators, including First Nations Peoples, making their work visible means losing control over what happens to it next.
AI companies themselves are beginning to acknowledge some of the disruption their technology is causing. Anthropic has recently announced an Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. They are funding research to address labour market disruption but acknowledge that “given the pace of AI development, bolder approaches are needed”.
UNSW Sydney academics have presented the federal government with a proposed Australian framework called Copyright Plus, which they say is one such bolder approach. It gives artists greater power in the world of AI over how their work is used – as well as a share in the value their work creates.
“Artists simply don’t have power over how technology companies use their work, a meaningful say in how media companies license copyright in their works, nor any power to remove unauthorised synthetic works from circulation,” says Professor Kathy Bowrey, an IP specialist from UNSW Law.
She says Copyright Plus would give creators greater power in three main ways.
The right to say no
“Creators should have the right to know how their work is being used – and to decide whether they consent to that use,” Prof. Bowrey says.
“But they can’t make an informed choice about AI training if they don’t know whether their work is being used.”
Importantly, copyright in a creative work is not always held by the person who created or performed it. It may instead be held by a publisher, record label, production company or other rights holder. Under current Australian law, AI companies don’t have to disclose data sources and copyright owners have no obligation to inform original creators if they have licensed their works for AI use.
But under Copyright Plus, AI companies would be obliged to disclose their data sources. Copyright owners would be obliged to disclose licensing provisions that allow the creator’s work to be used by AI, the share distribution, if any, for payments for creators, and other terms that may impact the artist’s moral rights.
“All companies involved in licensing would be obliged to honour the right of creators to say no to having their work scraped for AI training or mimicked in AI-generated content,” says Associate Professor Oliver Bown, a co-author of the proposal and expert on creative technologies, with UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture.
He says Copyright Plus would uphold the principle that creative work does not lose its value simply because it’s publicly accessible online. Artists should be able to permit use, negotiate its terms or refuse it.
Creators getting paid
Copyright Plus would put a price back on creative labour, imposing a levy on AI companies to create a fair payment scheme for creative professionals whose work is likely to have been used historically without permission, as well as a broader cultural fund to support the arts ecosystem.
“Mandatory reporting of training data sources is already part of EU and Californian law,” Prof. Bowrey says.
“Overseas copyright litigation is also exposing the unauthorised use of Australian content.”
Prof. Bowrey says under Copyright Plus, unions and professional organisations will disperse income from a fair remuneration fund to affected artists, providing some compensation for the free-riding on their labour. Payments will reach creators who may never be part of a major commercial deal, including performers, voice artists, session musicians and visual artists.
“That could mean, for example, a relatively unknown visual artist who was never part of a major AI licensing deal could still receive payment from the fund through their professional organisation,” she says.
The broader cultural fund would also support the ecosystem that makes creative work possible – arts activities, as well as the infrastructures through which people produce, distribute and earn money from their work.
Enforcement
A right offers little protection if enforcing it requires time and money an artist does not have, the researchers say. Copyright Plus creates faster ways for artists and First Nations Peoples to identify unauthorised AI content and have it removed from circulation. This includes works that mimic real creators.
“A key concept of Copyright Plus is the power to issue expedited presumptive takedown notices, putting the onus of proof on the party distributing the AI-generated content to show that they are not ripping off authentic works,” says Prof. Bowrey.
Artists can notify their professional organisation of fake websites, AI-generated YouTube, TikTok and Instagram posts that mirror authentic artists, or content licensed under the condition of ‘No AI derivative’ or as subject to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property restrictions. After basic verification the organisation can request that the host take down the offending content, in the same way media companies issue take downs for copyright infringement.
The Copyright Plus framework would be funded by AI corporations through an AI Operations and Licence Fee.
Australia has been here before
Almost 100 years ago, the ABC was built in the wake of another world-changing technology – radio.
Public broadcasting recognised that a technology capable of reshaping culture needed institutions serving the public interest. The ABC has a charter to serve national identity, cultural diversity, education and the arts.
“The technological developments underpinning modern AI, as with the internet, were made with public money – and so, should result in technologies that serve the public good,” A/Prof. Bown says.
“If we don’t design people power into our AI policies, we resign ourselves to being dictated to by foreign corporate powers.”
Contact details:
Lachlan Gilbert
UNSW News & Content
t: +61 2 9065 5241
e: [email protected]