Malaysia Eyes Opt-Out Rights for Copyright Owners in AI Training

Malaysia's Intellectual Property Office (MyIPO) has indicated that any new legal framework governing artificial intelligence should grant copyright holders the right to opt out of having their works used for AI model training purposes.

The agency stressed that regulations must carefully equilibrate the interests of creative industries with the broader needs of technology development, trade expansion and investment attraction. MyIPO's position reflects growing global concerns about the use of copyrighted material in training large language models and other AI systems without explicit permission or compensation.

The proposed opt-out mechanism would allow authors, musicians, publishers and other copyright owners to restrict their intellectual property from being incorporated into AI datasets. This approach differs from an opt-in model, which would require prior consent before any AI training use occurs.

MyIPO's framework proposal comes as regulators worldwide grapple with establishing rules that protect creative workers while avoiding stifling innovation. The agency has emphasised that Malaysia's approach must remain competitive internationally while safeguarding local content creators' rights.

No timeline has been provided for implementing new copyright regulations related to AI training, though MyIPO indicated the matter remains under active policy consideration.