Authors Guild Joins Protests Challenging Change in Australian Copyright Law - Publishers Weekly

The Authors Guild is taking part in a global effort to stop the Australian government from introducing legislation that would let AI companies use authors' work without a licence to build models, Publishers Weekly reports. The Guild's involvement is reported as part of protests challenging the change in Australian copyright law. As described in the report, the legislation would permit AI companies to use authors' work to build models without a licence. The Guild's participation places it among those opposing the proposed change.

The legislation would also preempt lawsuits that authors have brought against AI companies. The Australian government has planned opt-outs as part of the proposal. The Authors Guild said the opt-outs planned by the government are difficult to implement. The Guild also said the opt-outs "are no substitute for copyright's opt-in licensing."

The disagreement concerns the terms on which authors' work may be used to build AI models. The Guild's stated position is that use of authors' work should be licensed by the copyright holder — an opt-in arrangement — rather than permitted by default with an opt-out available afterwards. The report states that the legislation would preempt lawsuits authors have brought against AI companies, and describes the Guild as joining protests and a global effort against the change. Both mechanisms described in the report — licence-free use of authors' work and preemption of existing lawsuits — are attributed to the same proposed legislation. The protests described in the report are characterised as global in scope.