Dozens of International Media Organizations Back Australian Creatives in Warning Against Copyright Changes

Canberra, Australia - Today a group of 63 international media organizations led by the News/Media Alliance delivered a letter to senior Australian politicians asking them to reject proposed changes to the country's copyright laws that would allow artificial intelligence companies to use copyrighted material in training their models.

Collectively, the signatories represent thousands of copyright owners, creative sector organizations, and publishers across the world, and contribute to a growing domestic and international consensus, including comments from the Vatican, condemning the proposed changes.

They echo claims from Australia's creative community that this would upend the country's copyright regime by forcing rights holders to effectively forfeit their rights unless they opt-out. This undermines decades of international precedent, devalues their works and investments, and threatens their ability to negotiate for fair compensation for access to and use of their works.

The letter also notes that the changes would impact rights holders far beyond Australia. For the last six years, Australia has been a global leader in the effort to protect publishers against big tech's market abusive practices. The country has shown that it is possible to hold tech platforms accountable, and its success has provided an aspirational example for legislators in many other countries. The proposed changes would not only significantly reduce publishers' control over their content in Australia, but also set a dangerous negative precedent for countries around the globe.

Read the letter here .

Key Quotes from the Letter:

"Due to the borderless digital ecosystem, policies undermining copyright protections will reverberate worldwide. In addition to inevitable spillover effects and the detrimental precedence set by one of the world's leading creative economies, the proposals risk establishing Australia as a location to launder infringement worldwide"

"Australia has long been a strong supporter of the creative industries and the copyright economy. Capitulating to dominant AI developers by adopting a statutory pool solution would erode this reputation and turn the principles of copyright law upside down. Australia should not abandon its leadership position by aiming instead to adopt permanently weaker protections in exchange for speculative AI investments."

"Australia should not be on the side of multinational, dominant tech companies and drive a race to the bottom at the expense of creative industries that support millions of workers and a thriving cultural ecosystem."

"We are concerned the rumored solutions on the table would be in clear violation of various international treaty obligations, including the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the WTO TRIPS Agreement, the WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement."

Signatories:

Alliance for Intellectual Property

America's Newspapers (AN)

American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)

American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)

Anti Copying in Design (ACID)

Dr. Anya Schiffrin

Artists Rights Alliance (ARA)

Asociación Colombiana de Medios de Información

Asociación de Entidades Periodísticas Argentinas (ADEPA)

Asociación de Medios de Información

Association of American Publishers (AAP)

Association of Illustrators (AOI)

Association of Online Publishers (AOP)

Association of Photographers

Association of University Presses

Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR)

Authors Guild

Brazilian Newspaper Association (ANJ)

British Association of Photo Libraries and Agencies (BAPLA)

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)

Center for Media & Digital Governance

Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos (Spanish Reproduction Rights Centre) (CEDRO)

Copyright Alliance

Copyright Clearance Center (CCC)

Corint Media

Country Press Australia

CreativeFuture

Digital Content Next (DCN)

Digital Media Leadership Alliance (DMLA)

European Magazine Media Association (EMMA)

European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA)

European Publishers Council (EPC)

Greek Collecting Society for Literary Works (OSDEL)

Independent Society of Musicians (ISM)

International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM)

International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO)

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)

International Publishers Association (IPA)

Italian Federation of Newspapers and Magazines Publishers (FIEG)

Magyar Lapkiadók Egyesülete (Hungarian Publishers' Association) (MLE)

Music Publishers Canada

National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA)

National Newspaper Association (NNA)

National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)

News Media Association

News Media Canada

News Media Europe (NME)

News/Media Alliance (NMA)

Poska Izba Wydawców (The Polish Chamber of Publishers)

Press Database and Licensing Network (PDLN)

Professional Publishers Association (PPA)

Public Interest Publishers Alliance (PIPA)

Publisher's Association

Recording Academy

Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

Songwriters of North America (SONA)

Správce Licenčních Práv Vydavatelů (Publishers' Licensing Rights Manager) (SLPV)

Stichting Organisatie voor Persuitgeversrecht (Dutch Foundation for Press Publishers' Rights)

Stowarzyszenie Dziennikarzy i Wydawców Repropol (Association of Journalists and Publishers Repropol)

Sveriges Publicisters Kollektiva Förvaltningsorganisation (SPCMO)

Verlegerverband SCHWEIZER MEDIEN

VG Newsmedia GmbH

WAN-IFRA World Association of News Publishers