If you want to state the case against copyright reform in Australia, get Kylie Minogue’s phone number.
asserted
you → want → number
If there is one lesson to be learned from a similar battle in the UK, high-profile members of the creative industries make a difference.
asserted
members → be → difference
They get your argument on the front of newspapers, in the news bulletins and on social media.
asserted
They → get → media
In the face of this onslaught, the UK government backtracked on plans to let AI firms use copyright-protected work without permission.
asserted
firms → backtrack → permission
The many artists who put their name to various letters and protests against the reforms to create a virtual red carpet, included: Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus, the actor Julianne Moore and the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke.
asserted
who → put → John
John had one of the most memorable soundbites, calling the government “absolute losers” who were on course to “rob young people of their legacy and their income”.
asserted
who → have → legacy
Overall, the campaign was more sophisticated than just rounding up irritated celebrities.
asserted
campaign → round → celebrities
Beeban Kidron, a member of the upper house of the UK parliament and an award-winning film director, marshalled an effective political campaign against the proposals by pushing legislative amendments that would have spiked the plans.
asserted
that → win → plans
She also helped organise celebrity opposition
asserted
She → organise → opposition
Kidron says the campaign struck a chord with the public.
asserted
campaign → say → public
“People care about the songs, books and pictures that influence the critical moments in their lives,” she says.
asserted
she → care → lives
Polling backed this up, with seven out of 10 adults in the UK supporting the payment of royalties to copyright holders whose work had been used to train AI models.
asserted
work → back → models
The Australian prime minister should take heed, Kidron says.
asserted
Kidron → take → heed
“Albanese has been a leader in standing up to tech.
asserted
Albanese → stand → tech
He should not squander his reputation by selling Australian creatives down the river.”
asserted
He → squander → river
The campaign against copyright reform also benefited from the ingenuity of an industry that knows how to grab people’s attention.
asserted
that → benefit → attention
One of the most prominent figures in the movement against the proposals, Ed Newton-Rex, organised a “silent” album and an “empty” book, to warn of the consequences of watering down copyright law.
asserted
One → organise → law
“There is no one out there, who does not work for an AI company, who thinks AI companies should not pay for the content they use,” he says.
asserted
he → be → content
“What we did in the UK was make the government understand that was the case.”
asserted
that → make → UK
Newton-Rex, a composer and former AI executive, put together an album featuring recordings of dormant music studios and performance spaces, called Is This What We Want?
asserted
We → put → What
It was backed by more than 1,000 musicians, including Damon Albarn, Kate Bush and Annie Lennox.
asserted
It → back → Albarn
The author stunt, called Don’t Steal This Book, involved 10,000 writers listing their names in an otherwise empty paperback.
asserted
stunt → call → paperback
Contributors included Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman.
asserted
Contributors → include → Ishiguro
“The only way the government gets something like this copyright proposal through is if no one notices what they are doing.
asserted
they → get → what
It will take just a moment for people to understand this is not fair,” says Newton-Rex.
asserted
Rex → take → ?
Albanese’s government needs to be wary of committing the same mistake as its centre-left UK counterpart, says Pierre Andrews, a former adviser on culture policy under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government in 2023-2024.
asserted
Andrews → need → 2023
“The [UK] Labour government’s mistake was that it thought it could convince the creative industries to go along with it,” he says.
uncertain
he → think → it
Instead, the nation’s assembled artists and authors recoiled at a perceived betrayal by a party they thought would be on their side.
“There was a strong sense of surprise within the creative community that Labour would even consider changing copyright to their detriment,” he says, adding that he foresees another government U-turn, but in Australia this time.
asserted
he → assemble → Australia
The tech industry still believes in the win-win argument; that the UK could get behind a policy where domestic AI companies are able to train models on British shores using copyright-protected content, while the holders receive adequate compensation for their work.
uncertain
holders → believe → work
“The government recognised that it didn’t frame the initial consultation very well,” says Antony Walker, deputy chief executive of trade association techUK.
asserted
Walker → recognise → techUK
“But I also think rights holders were extremely effective at shouting down the debate.
asserted
holders → think → debate
In March the then UK technology secretary, Liz Kendall said the key proposal to let tech companies train on copyright protected material unless artists “opt out” of the process beforehand was no longer the government’s preferred option.
asserted
artists → say → process
The new prime minister, Smiths-loving Andy Burnham, has yet to set out a new policy on copyright but would face a battle-hardened opposition if he took the unlikely step of taking on the creatives again.
asserted
he → love → creatives
The Aporia
