Indonesia is preparing a sweeping overhaul of its copyright law that would make it the first country in Southeast Asia to explicitly address generative AI in copyright legislation. According to a draft bill reviewed by Reuters, the proposed law recognizes AI-assisted works as eligible for copyright protection—provided there is sufficient human creative involvement—while excluding fully AI-generated content from copyright protection. The proposal reflects Indonesia's effort to modernize intellectual property rules as AI becomes increasingly central to content creation.
The draft introduces several significant obligations for AI companies and digital platforms. It would prohibit AI systems from imitating a creator's distinctive style, require disclosure when AI is used to generate content, and mandate that technology platforms compensate publishers and creators when they aggregate, republish, preview, or use copyrighted content for AI training. Compensation would be distributed through state-supervised collective management organizations. The legislation would cover a broad range of creative works, including journalism, photography, films, software, video games, and other copyrighted content.
The proposal has sparked opposition from major technology companies, particularly Google, which argues that the rules are too broad and could discourage innovation, investment, and AI development in Indonesia. Google has warned that mandatory compensation and disclosure requirements could make Indonesia an international outlier, while Indonesian media organizations and press groups have defended the proposal, arguing that AI companies and digital platforms should fairly compensate creators whose work is used to develop commercial AI systems. The draft also provides that AI training on copyrighted material must either qualify under fair-use provisions or be licensed by rights holders, and companies that fail to comply could face penalties, including the loss of their local business licenses.
The article concludes that Indonesia's proposal highlights the growing global debate over the relationship between AI innovation and copyright protection. Rather than focusing only on AI-generated content, the draft addresses the entire AI content lifecycle—from training data and creator compensation to transparency and ownership. If enacted, the legislation could become an influential model for other countries seeking to balance technological innovation with the rights of creators, while adding momentum to worldwide discussions over how AI developers should access and compensate copyrighted material.
