Courts push back on AI training copyright infringement
Copyright holders including major studios are litigating against AI companies over the use of copyrighted material in training large language models, while courts examine whether such use qualifies as fair use. The Motion Picture Association and others argue that AI development must respect copyright protections.
What happened
OpenAI and Google have sought fewer restrictions on how they use content to train large language models, requesting that copyright protections be eased, framing the matter as a national security concern in competition with China.
Reported impact
Copyright owners, including studios, have raised concerns that unrestricted AI training threatens the copyright system that incentivizes creation of original content.
Index analysis
Courts have begun examining whether the use of copyrighted material in AI training qualifies as fair use, with a Delaware court reconsidering its prior position on the subject.
Governance controls
The Motion Picture Association filed a 10-page comment with the White House Office of Science and Technology, arguing that AI 'can, and must, coexist with a copyright system that incentivizes the creation of original expression and protects the rights of copyright owners.'
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.