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The Albanese Government has rejected a proposal to amend Australia's copyright laws to allow artificial intelligence (AI) systems to freely train on copyright works, according to an official statement released on Sunday.
The announcement follows the recent proposal from the Productivity Commission in its Interim Report, 'Harnessing data and digital technology', that the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) be amended to include a fair dealing exception for "text and data mining" (TDM Exception).
Under the proposed TDM Exception, AI developers in Australia would be permitted to use the works of copyright holders for the purposes of training AI models, without obtaining the holders' permission and without paying licence fees.
The TDM Exception exists in other jurisdictions in various forms, including the European Union and Singapore, however the Australian Government has declared it has no plans to "weaken copyright protections" when it comes to AI.
The Hon Michelle Rowland MP has stated that "artificial Intelligence presents significant opportunities for Australia and our economy, however it's important that Australian creatives benefit from these opportunities too".
"Australian creatives are not only world class, but they are also the lifeblood of Australian culture, and we must ensure the right legal protections are in place," Hon Rowland MP said.
"The tech industry and the creative sector must now come together and find sensible and workable solutions to support innovation while ensuring creators are compensated".
The Government is convening its Copyright and AI Reference Group this week to consider a number of questions including whether a paid collective licensing framework under the Copyright Act should be established. It will be interesting to see whether a balance can be struck between protecting creators' rights and encouraging AI developers to innovate.
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