15/07/2026

Publishers await clarity on take copyright and AI after lobbying campaign  

Publishers and creators are awaiting greater clarity on copyright and AI as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivers a major address on AI in Australia’s Interests on Wednesday 15 July. Although specific copyright reforms are not expected to be announced, it may indicate how the government intends to balance AI investment and data-centre development with the rights of Australian creators and publishers. The Prime Minister is expected to argue that AI companies must earn their social licence to operate in Australia.

Recent reporting has sharpened the issues. Anthropic reportedly advised the government that a proposed $21.6 billion investment in Australian AI model development and infrastructure was contingent on ‘greater certainty’ about copyright and its liability to rights holders. Treasury briefing material indicates that Anthropic raised difficulties licensing the “long tail” of smaller rights holders, although it stopped short of seeking an outright copyright exemption. This framing around a supposed uncertainty is a position the APA and rightsholders firmly reject.

The government has continued to rule out a text and data mining exception. However, views within government remain divided, and a final position on copyright and AI does not appear to have been reached.

In late June the APA worked with the ASA and Copyright Agency on a coordinated campaign involving a Canberra delegation and press conference featuring Anna Funder and Andy Griffiths, extensive media coverage, and dozens of meetings with ministers, parliamentarians and officials. The APA thanks all publishers who have supported the open letter campaign and encouraged their authors to participate. This support has reinforced a clear message across the book sector and wider creative industries: copyright must remain based on permission, licensing and fair payment.

International rights-holder organisations—including the International Publishers Association and STM—also sent a joint letter to the Australian Government yesterday, Tuesday 14 July, reinforcing the importance of copyright, licensing and fair payment.

Our advocacy remains focused on ensuring that negotiations over AI investment do not weaken the rights of Australian creators and publishers. Continued work will be needed to secure market-based licensing, fair remuneration, transparency about the use of copyrighted material, and effective AI regulation and enforcement.

Meanwhile in the US, AI piracy lawsuits proliferate:  Hachette, Cengage, Elsevier and author Scott Turow have launched a class action against Google, alleging it unlawfully copied books and journal articles to train Gemini. In the wake of the Anthropic piracy settlement, the case seeks damages and an injunction against further unauthorised use.

New Advocacy Briefings 

Our first round of advocacy meetings was a big success, with lots of engagement and many of you in attendance. Below you'll find the details of the next advocacy briefings: 

Trade Publishing Advocacy Briefing – Tuesday 10 November, 12-1pm AEST  

Hear from the APA's Head of Policy Dr Stuart Glover on the key issues affecting the trade publishing sector, including developments in AI and copyright, and the Australian National Cultural Policy. These meetings are held bi-yearly and are open to all APA Full Members.   

Educational Publishing Advocacy Briefing – Thursday 12 November, 12-1pm AEST 

Hear from the APA's Head of Policy Dr Stuart Glover on the key issues affecting the educational publishing sector, including AI and copyright developments, and the policy settings for schools, tertiary, and scholarly and journal publishers.     

These meetings are held bi-yearly and are open to all APA Full Members.