AI Companies Blame Users For Copyright Infringement
You could get sued for what you create, if law makers agree
The US Copyright Office is reviewing regulations on the use of copyright within AI. They’re asking for feedback from AI companies about their thoughts on copyright infringement when users create words and images using their AI tools.
According to a report published by Windows Central, Microsoft has said the buck should stop with the user, because their tools cannot generate anything without a prompt from a user. Therefore, any case of copyright infringement is the responsibility of the user, not the responsibility of the AI developer.
However, as always, there are grey areas around what the user can be expected to know…
When AI-generated Disney characters appeared online engaging in lewd acts, this infuriated Disney’s executives, and was clearly an unauthorised use of their intellectual property.
Based on the argument that the user is at fault, AI companies would say the user instructed the software to create images of Disney characters doing naughty things, so it’s the user’s responsibility. But at the moment, the AI companies are still being held legally responsible for the images created by their apps. We’ll come back to Disney in a moment.
What can users be expected to know?
The other issue surrounding AI copyright infringement is where artwork or photography has been copied and replicated by an AI system, without the user’s knowledge. Most users of AI apps create images in good faith that the software will not spit out something that is copyrighted and therefore illegal to use.
They trust the terms and conditions given by the AI platforms, which state they are permitted to use the imagery. They should not have to brace themselves for a lawsuit because the image has been copied without the permission of the copyright holder.
There’s a big difference between knowingly generating an image containing someone else’s intellectual property, such as Disney characters, and unknowingly generating an innocent image of say, a harvest mouse, that is close to someone’s original artwork, and is therefore considered a breach of copyright by the artist.
Users can use their judgement to prevent the first situation, but they have no way of knowing whether a random image of a harvest mouse in the second, is a breach of copyright. The only way to be certain is to avoid using AI altogether.
It’s no different photography! Really?
AI developers are arguing that AI is no different from using a video camera to record what’s around you. They say their software is just a tool — like a camera. You wouldn’t blame a camera manufacturer because you took a photograph of copyrighted material and sold it as your own.
Yet, those of us who are photographers know that even with a camera in hand, we have to be cautious of photographing copyrighted material, especially for commercial use, because of potential copyright breaches. Context and the size or significance of the item in the scene matters.
The difference, perhaps, is knowledge. Users are not always able to tell whether an image generated by AI infringes someone’s copyright. That buck stops with the AI company, because only they know the source of the original training materials.
Will law suits be coming your way?
So, will users of AI get blamed for copyright infringement by these apps in the future? Will lawsuits for copyright infringement start landing at the doormats of users instead of developers?
It may ultimately boil down to whether a user could possibly know about the infringement. But right now, it’s the AI developers taking flack for breach of copyright, so here’s what Microsoft has done about the Disney complaint…
First they blocked ‘Disney’ as a term that could be input to the app. Then they updated their software to allow the term ‘Disney’ but the official logos were changed and characters were blurred, to prevent copyright infringement. Whether Disney is happy with this remains to be seen. I suspect they’re still fuming.
The Financial Times recently reported that Microsoft currently accepts legal responsibility for commercial customers who get embroiled in copyright claims caused by output from their AI apps. They also reported that other major companies say they will protect commercial clients from claims caused by use of their AI, too.
Sources: Windows Central on MSN; Inside the Magic
© Susie Kearley 2023. All Rights Reserved.
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