How much can I upload into genAI?

The short answer is – it depends. The amount that users can potentially upload without infringing copyright will vary based on the use, the licensing/permissions in place for the material, whether the output would be considered a derivative work, and what you plan to do with the output.

How likely is that that I can upload an entire copyright work to genAI?

Again, short answer – not very likely, but it will depend on the type of material and the use case.

For most copyright material, uploading or otherwise including an entire copyrighted work as part of a prompt will likely infringe copyright. There are some exceptions noted in other accordions below. For example, uploading a single article/chapter to a genAI tool may be acceptable in some situations, whereas uploading a whole ebook will likely remain an infringing use unless there is a major change to Australian copyright legislation.

Do not assume that because something is publicly available you can just use it with genAI. The same is true for resources from the Library’s subscriptions such as ebooks and journals – not all material is suitable to include in genAI prompts due to licensing or other factors.

The GenAI Basics section above discusses the training of genAI tools using copyright materials and the ownership of outputs.

Have a question? Contact the Copyright Advisor