Is OpenAI breaking U.S. copyright law? A former employee of the company says yes.
A former researcher at the OpenAI has come out against the company’s business model, writing, in a personal blog, that he believes the company is not complying with U.S. copyright law. That makes him one of a growing chorus of voices that sees the tech giant’s data-hoovering business as based on shaky (if not plainly illegitimate) legal ground.
Guess it’s time to cut off OpenAI’s internet service. That’s how it works, right, Copyright Cartel??
In the US that’s the big rub: fair use exists, but if you’re using it commercially it becomes a lot shakier and less likely to be ruled as fair use in court. The general history of case rulings is (tldr version) if you’re making money from using someone else’s work, then you should probably pay them for the work you’re using. See: the crazy settlements over samples in songs that have happened.
If you hoover up the grand total sum of human knowledge, pay nobody anything, and profit from it, then you’re very much on shaky grounds.