Australia is considering changes to its copyright laws that would allow protected works to be used for AI training. John Phelan, director general of the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP), called the proposals “a vast landgrab” and said music should not be used without rightholders’ permission.
Phelan said training AI on digital music without a licence infringes copyright. He called for a combination of legislative action, litigation, licensing and technology to address the issue.
The ICMP chief said the organisation has spent several years gathering evidence of copyright infringement by technology companies. He said the issue involves not only AI-focused firms but also major technology companies including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Adobe.
