SFC Submits comments to US Copyright Office on Generative AI and Copyleft; SFC warns that “compulsory licensing” undercuts goal of copyleft

[Software Freedom Conservancy]

URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2023/nov/01/us-copyright-office-generative-ai-machine-learning/

 SFC Submits comments to US Copyright Office on Generative AI and Copyleft
      SFC warns that “compulsory licensing” undercuts goal of copyleft

This week, Software Freedom Conservancy responded to the United States
Copyright Office's request for comments to better understand how so-called
generative AI systems present new challenges and concerns to copyright.
SFC's comments [0], prepared primarily by our Policy Fellow, Bradley M. Kuhn
and Director of Compliance, Denver Gingerich, addressed the unique issues
raised in relation to copyleft-licensed materials and the implications of
their use in training set materials.

This week, Software Freedom Conservancy responded to the United States
Copyright Office's request for comments to better understand how so-called
generative AI systems present new challenges and concerns to
copyright. SFC's comments, prepared primarily by our Policy Fellow, Bradley
M. Kuhn and Director of Compliance, Denver Gingerich, addressed the unique
issues raised in relation to copyleft-licensed materials and the
implications of their use in training set materials.

SFC's submitted comments highlight how copyleft truly “promote[s] Progress
in Science and the Useful Arts" (the phrase used in the United States
Constitution that established copyright) and that copyleft licensing should
be specifically considered in any rulemaking or legislation. Copylefted Free
and Open Source Software (“FOSS”) uniquely creates a collaborative
environment for creative production; SFC's comments call on policymakers to
carefully consider how these conditions differ from typical corporate and
business contexts for policymaking. Because copyleft licensing requires
reciprocity, SFC asked the Copyright Office to understand that financial
compensation for copyright holders does not properly advance the policy
goals of copyleft, and by extension, the policy motivation of“promot[ing]
Progress" . Furthermore, SFC's comments draw attention to the power
imbalance between Big Tech and the actual producers of labor that has filled
their trained models.

SFC drew specific attention to the questions regarding financial-focused
“compulsory licensing”. Compulsory licensing has been used for automatic
permissions on copyrighted works, such as musical compositions, using
royalty payments to compensate copyright holders. SFC's comments
specifically explain that when, as with copyleft, the policy goals of
licensors are principled and encompass more than mere financial
compensation, compulsory licensing fails as a remedy. SFC fears that, either
through Congress or industry “self regulation”, compulsory licensing of
software may become a tool to eviscerate copyleft. As pointed out in the
comments, this is also among the reasons that SFC does not support
finanically-motivated class action litigation against Big Tech [1].

You can view SFC's submitted comments in their entirety on our site [2], and
they will be made public by the Copryight Office once processing of the
comments is complete. If you are interested in other writings and programs
about AI from the SFC staff we have convened an expert group on code
generation tools [3], written about the harms and concerns of Generative AI
for software development [4]. SFC was also invited to speak alongside many
activists in a broad area of creative fields at a recent FTC panel
regarding “Creative Economy and Generative AI“ [5].

You can support work like this by becoming a Sustainer [6] or making a
donation [7].

References:

[0] https://sfconservancy.org/docs/2023-10-30_Software-Freedom-Conservancy-Copyright-Office-Generative-AI-Comments-Docket-2023-6.pdf
[1] https://sfconservancy.org/news/2022/nov/04/class-action-lawsuit-filing-copilot/
[2] https://sfconservancy.org/docs/2023-10-30_Software-Freedom-Conservancy-Copyright-Office-Generative-AI-Comments-Docket-2023-6.pdf
[3] https://sfconservancy.org/news/2022/feb/23/committee-ai-assisted-software-github-copilot/
[4] https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2022/feb/03/github-copilot-copyleft-gpl
[5] https://sfconservancy.org/news/2023/oct/04/ftc-ai-panel/
[6] https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/
[7] https://sfconservancy.org/donate/

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