Arts Law Centre chief executive Dr Louise Buckingham says she receives thousands of inquiries each year from artists and musicians navigating copyright. The legal test for infringement comes down to whether a substantial part of an original work has been used without the copyright owner\u2019s permission. Australia has also moral rights provisions in its Copyright Act that obliges respect and acknowledgment of the artist.<\/p>\n
Few artists have the means to pursue legal action and success is not guaranteed, Buckingham said. AI has only made recourse more difficult because its scraping of databases means intent by the designer is harder to prove. Last month, the Albanese government quashed a proposal to grant tech firms an exemption from copyright laws so they could freely mine copyright content to train their models.<\/p>\n
Corks posted her circumstances on Instagram<\/a> on November 17, without naming the retailer, and other artists came forward to share their experiences in the retail sector. The trio says their message is one of opportunity, not hostility.<\/p>\n Sophie Corks in her home studio in Orange.Credit: Madeline Young<\/p>\n \u201cWe simply want major retailers to partner with us, not echo us. Adairs has the power to uplift Australian creativity, and we\u2019re asking them to use that power responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n Adairs said it took artistic integrity and ethical design seriously, and had acted responsibly in line with \u201cboth our legal obligations and our high ethical standards\u201d. The retailer did not respond to questions asking if the canvases had been pulled from sale.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve reviewed the concerns raised by the artists and the processes followed by our designers, and we shared the findings directly with them.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be clear, Adairs has not infringed the copyright of any of the artists concerned. Further, and importantly, Adairs is confident our approach reflects ethical design principles and that there\u2019s no reasonable basis for any suggestion that Adairs has not conducted itself ethically.\u201d<\/p>\n The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sophie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/8e12a989df9c534585a61c160d1612c5813c94b8.jpeg\")
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