Unfair Learning: GenAI Exceptionalism and Copyright Law

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Atkinson, David
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909851455586304
author Atkinson, David
author_facet Atkinson, David
contents This paper challenges the argument that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is entitled to broad immunity from copyright law for reproducing copyrighted works without authorization due to a fair use defense. It examines fair use legal arguments and eight distinct substantive arguments, contending that every legal and substantive argument favoring fair use for GenAI applies equally, if not more so, to humans. Therefore, granting GenAI exceptional privileges in this domain is legally and logically inconsistent with withholding broad fair use exemptions from individual humans. It would mean no human would need to pay for virtually any copyright work again. The solution is to take a circumspect view of any fair use claim for mass copyright reproduction by any entity and focus on the first principles of whether permitting such exceptionalism for GenAI promotes science and the arts.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_00955
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Unfair Learning: GenAI Exceptionalism and Copyright Law
Atkinson, David
Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
This paper challenges the argument that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is entitled to broad immunity from copyright law for reproducing copyrighted works without authorization due to a fair use defense. It examines fair use legal arguments and eight distinct substantive arguments, contending that every legal and substantive argument favoring fair use for GenAI applies equally, if not more so, to humans. Therefore, granting GenAI exceptional privileges in this domain is legally and logically inconsistent with withholding broad fair use exemptions from individual humans. It would mean no human would need to pay for virtually any copyright work again. The solution is to take a circumspect view of any fair use claim for mass copyright reproduction by any entity and focus on the first principles of whether permitting such exceptionalism for GenAI promotes science and the arts.
title Unfair Learning: GenAI Exceptionalism and Copyright Law
topic Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.00955