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Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) User Guide: Copyright and Referencing

Copyright

The guide Using Generative AI Platforms in TAFEs from Smartcopying provides some guidance on the copyright issues that might arise.

AI does not necessarily have the capacity determine whether what it creates is a breach of copyright and the services waive all liability and responsibility onto the user – so it is important that you check original sources.

It is recommended that you check the terms and conditions of any AI tool or platform you generate material from before using.

Currently copyright protection in Australia only applies to original works created by humans. 


Referencing and Attribution

Always check with your lecturer before using items generated by an AI tool in your assessments.

All items generated using any AI tool  and used in assessments require appropriate attribution that they have been created by an AI tool, the program used, what prompts were used and the date it was produced.

  • AI tool and version
  • Type of AI tool
  • Date
  • Prompt/s or instructions (a transcript may be included as an appendix in your assessment)

The APA Style blog provides advice on how to cite and reference generative AI such as ChatGPT.

It is more than likely that information on how to reference AI will continue to be updated as this field continues to change at a rapid rate. We recommend checking this page regularly as well as our APA Referencing and Plagiarism Guide.


Risk management

AI generated content is a complex space when it comes to rights management, the technology is moving quickly, and legislation will take time to reflect these changes. By submitting content to AI platforms through prompts, you grant the AI services the right to re-use and distribute this content and that may result in a breach of copyright or privacy.

Although not legal advice, some suggestions in working with generative AI are:

  • Do not submit private/personal information in prompts or otherwise to AI platforms – no names, email addresses, student ID numbers, phone numbers etc.
  • Do not submit any copyrighted materials or other protected CR TAFE intellectual property in prompts or otherwise to AI platforms – no images, text, sound, film, computer code, designs, trademarks, patents etc.