Indonesia's copyright rewrite would regulate AI style imitation

Indonesia is considering a copyright overhaul that would put AI directly into the statute. A draft reviewed by Reuters would recognize protection for AI-assisted work with meaningful human creative input, require disclosure when AI is used and prohibit systems from imitating a creator's “distinctive style.”

The draft would also place training uses under fair-use limits or licensing agreements. Reuters reported that a Justice Ministry official confirmed the document's authenticity, but the proposal has not yet become law and may change during deliberation.

Later in July, Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs said the government was gathering views from technology, media, music, film and other creative sectors. Its public position emphasized balance rather than a finished rule.

Music makes the hard parts visible

A style restriction sounds intuitive, but enforcement will have to distinguish influence from commercial imitation. Music adds further layers: composition, recording, vocal identity and performance style can belong to different people and rights regimes.

The Indonesian proposal is part of a wider July policy shift. The European Broadcasting Union separately asked the European Commission for workable training opt-outs, remedies for past infringement, crawler transparency and support for a functioning licensing market.

Neither document settles how models should be trained. Together they show governments and public institutions moving beyond broad calls for “responsible AI” toward disclosure, consent and compensation mechanisms that can be tested.