KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — The use of copyrighted material for artificial intelligence (AI) model training is subject to approval from copyright holders, with licensing arrangements and royalty payments to be agreed by the relevant parties under the Copyright Act 1987.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Deputy Minister Datuk Fuziah Salleh said the requirement applies to any use of copyrighted works, whether for AI applications or other purposes.
“Permission from the copyright owner is required for any work to be used, whether or not it involves AI technology,” she said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara today.
Fuziah was responding to Senator Datuk Wu Him Ven's supplementary query on whether the government required copyright holders to approve the use of copyrighted works for AI model training, and whether licensing and royalty mechanisms would be introduced to ensure proper compensation for local creators.
She added that Section 27 of the Copyright Act 1987 stipulates that payment arrangements are subject to agreements between the parties, which can be carried out through licensing, rights assignments, or through Collective Management Organisations representing copyright owners.
In response to Senator Wan Martina Wan Yusoff's supplementary query, Fuziah said that the government has not yet conducted a dedicated study on how AI-generated content affects job opportunities and earnings among local creative industry workers.
However, it is conducting ongoing engagements with various stakeholders and studying approaches adopted by other countries before considering any new policies or legal frameworks.
“No impact assessment has been conducted yet as we are continuing consultations and studying models adopted by other countries to understand the implications better. AI is evolving very quickly, which is why the engagement process must continue,” she said.
Earlier, Fuziah said that Malaysia has yet to record any court cases involving copyright violations arising from the use of AI technology.
The nation's Copyright Act 1987 currently protects only works that demonstrate originality through human effort, skill and intellectual contribution, while fully AI-generated works without significant human creativity do not qualify for copyright protection.
