EXCLUSIVE: Generative AI (GAI) is stirring up a storm in the world of copyright, threatening to topple the industry’s stronghold on protecting creative works. This powerful tool can mimic human responses and has the potential to incentive progress and innovation. But is it infringing on the rights of authors? Let’s dive in!
Copyright law is all about balancing the rights of creators and the public’s interest in accessing content. It grants authors exclusive rights to their works, like reproducing and distributing them. However, copyright doesn’t protect ideas and facts, which means copying alone doesn’t constitute infringement. GAI knows how to play this game and dances around copyright. It emulates, it doesn’t copy.
But what about fair use? This doctrine allows for the use of copyrighted material in a way that doesn’t stifle art and science. It’s a murky and contentious area of the law, and cases before GAI’s time suggest that fair use might cover the ingestion and processing of books by this clever AI. Transformative uses, such as creating a full-text searchable database, have been considered fair use.
However, fair use has its limits. In a recent Supreme Court case, it was determined that if an original work and a copying use share the same purpose, or if the secondary work could substitute the original, fairness is compromised. This begs the question: can AI-generated works devalue human-created content? The courts will have to decide on a case-by-case basis.
The tension between GAI and copyright will work itself out in time. The publishing industry needs to step up and shape the future of AI. They can lobby for legislation, license books to train AI, and create their own bespoke AI models. This puts publishers at the forefront of discussions about credibility, attribution, bias, compensation, and transparency.
At the end of the day, the publishing industry is not as vulnerable as it seems. An author’s brand and a publisher’s imprint carry value in an age of disinformation. The industry must take charge and actively participate in the AI revolution. After all, as Nick Lowe once said, “Where it’s goin’ no one knows.”
What do you think? Is generative AI a threat to copyright? Leave your comments below!
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