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Australian Copyright Council response to the
Safe and responsible AI in Australia: Discussion Paper
11 August 2023
The Australian Copyright Council acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on
which our office is located, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and all Traditional Owners of Country
throughout Australia. We pay our respects to all Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their
continuing great, creative and cultural expressions.
1. The Australian Copyright Council (the ACC) is grateful for the opportunity to make a
submission on the Department of Industry, Science and Resources Discussion Paper on Safe
and Responsible AI (the Discussion Paper).
About the Australian Copyright Council
2. The ACC is a small, independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting
understanding of copyright law and its application. The ACC works to foster collaboration
between content creators and consumers, representing the peak bodies for professional artists
and content creators working in Australia’s creative industries.
3. The ACC is a unique organisation:
• it is the only dedicated copyright expert organisation in Australia
• its focus is on copyright as it applies to all art forms
• it provides advocacy, advice and information on copyright issues, and
• it is a membership-based organisation, representing over a million creators.
4. The ACC has 24 affiliate member organisations, 1 several of which are making separate
submissions to this consultation. These affiliate members represent over a million writers,
musicians, visual artists, designers, photographers, directors, performers, choreographers,
producers, publishers, record labels and architects working in the Australian creative
industries.
1 See Appendix 1.
Gadigal Country www.copyright.org.au
PO Box 1986 info@copyright.org.au
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 ACN 001 228 780
Ph: +61 2 9101 2377
ACC response to the Safe and Responsible AI in Australia Discussion Paper 11 August 2023
5. As part of its services, the ACC provides information, education, training and free, written legal
advice to those who fall within its guidelines including the staff of libraries, galleries, museums
and educational institutions. 2
Background and context
6. This Discussion Paper comes at a time of other investigations into artificial intelligence (AI)
including:
• the House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training inquiry into the
use of generative artificial intelligence in the Australian education system (to which the
ACC made a submission) 3
• the Inquiry into Artificial Intelligence (AI) in New South Wales (to which the ACC will
make a submission), and
• the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Ministerial Round Tables in which AI is part of the
discussions. 4
7. We note that the Discussion Paper does not seek to consider the implications of artificial
intelligence (AI) on intellectual property law. 5 However, it is the ACC’s position that any
identification of ‘potential gaps in the existing domestic governance landscape’ 6 of AI must be
considered in the broader copyright context. This submission addresses copyright-related
aspects, only, of AI.
8. Responding to technological advances (and AI may be seen as the latest of these), has
always been a significant part of the evolution and development of copyright legislation. ‘[T]he
origins of modern copyright laws are directly linked to the invention of printing’ 7 and the impact
of that invention on the ease with which information could be disseminated.
9. Australian copyright law is based on the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (Copyright Act) and the
decisions of the courts that have applied and interpreted that legislation. The Copyright Act
has been amended many times since it first came into operation (on 1 May 1969) with some of
those amendments introduced to address new technologies. These include: 8
• 1984 – copyright protection introduced for computer programs 9
• 1999 – non-infringing uses of computer programs, including decompilation to produce an
interoperable product 10
• 2000 – establishment of the right of communication to the public; educational institutions
and libraries permitted to make certain uses of digitised material; new prohibition against
circumvention of technological protection measures and encrypted broadcasts; new
prohibitions against tampering with rights management information; regulation of internet
service provider liability for infringements by their clients 11
2 See Appendix 2.
3 See Submissions – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au) Submission 69.
4 AI is due to be discussed on 28 August 2023.
5 Department of Industry, Science and Resources Discussion Paper on Safe and Responsible AI (the Discussion Paper),
p 4 .
© Australian Copyright Council 2023 11
ACC response to the Safe and Responsible AI in Australia Discussion Paper 11 August 2023
raised in areas other than copyright, including privacy, identity theft and fraud. 73 As a result,
transparency is most important at the ‘input’ stage for the reasons set out in paragraphs 46-48
above.
Target areas
10. Do you have suggestions for:
a. Whether any high-risk AI applications or technologies should be banned
completely?
b. Criteria or requirements to identify AI applications or technologies that should
be banned, and in which contexts?
60. From a creator’s perspective, blanket bans on the use of AI are not desirable. There are
legitimate uses of AI tools in the process of creating copyright works. 74
Conclusion
61. The ACC thanks the Department of Industry, Science and Resources for considering these
comments. We look forward to the continuous process of working with the Government and
other stakeholders. If the Department has any further queries or requires further information,
please let us know.
Eileen Camilleri
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Copyright Council
11 August 2023
73See Rapid Response Information Report p 12.
74See for example discussion in Fashion’s new fakes: How AI will change what you wear (smh.com.au), Janice Breen
Burns, 29 July 2023 and Paul McCartney says 'final Beatles record' out this year aided by AI - ABC News.
© Australian Copyright Council 2023 12
ACC response to the Safe and Responsible AI in Australia Discussion Paper 11 August 2023
Appendix 1
Australian Copyright Council Affiliates
as at 11 August 2023
The Australian Copyright Council’s views on issues of policy and law are independent, however we
seek comment from the organisations affiliated to the ACC when developing policy positions and
making submissions to government. As at the date of this response, the Australian Copyright Council
affiliates are:
1. Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd
2. APRA|AMCOS
3. Ausdance National
4. Australia New Zealand Screen Association
5. Australasian Music Publishers Association Ltd
6. Australian Cinematographers Society
7. Australian Guild of Screen Composers
8. Australian Institute of Architects
9. Australian Publishers Association
10. Australian Recording Industry Association
11. Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collecting Society Limited
12. Australian Society of Authors
13. Australian Writers Guild Authorship Collecting Society (AWGACS)
14. Big Studio Movie Licence
15. Copyright Agency
16. Design Institute of Australia
17. Illustrators Australia
18. Image Makers Association Australia
19. Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance
20. Musicians Union of Australia
21. National Association for the Visual Arts
22. Phonographic Performance Company of Australia
23. Screen Producers Australia
24. Screenrights
© Australian Copyright Council 2023 13
ACC response to the Safe and Responsible AI in Australia Discussion Paper 11 August 2023
Appendix 2
ACC Guidelines
A core part of the Australian Copyright Council’s (ACC) activities is our free written
legal advice service. This unique service is targeted primarily to those working in the creative
industries and members of our affiliate organisations. Staff members of the organisations listed
below are also eligible:
• educational institutions
• arts and cultural organisations
• libraries
• museums
• galleries
• archives.
© Australian Copyright Council 2023 14