Post #289455

2026-02-13 08:34 UTC

People pontificating about whether codebases containing LLM-generated code are subject to IP protection all seem to be forgetting the key point that the law always sides with capital When big media decided that pirating an mp3 file should be a criminal (not civil) offence, the law sided with them When big tech decided that pirating every piece of media on the internet for AI training was fair use, the law sided with them

Replies (9)

@nicklockwood@mastodon.social 2026-02-13 08:36

Sure there will be some border skirmishes where IP owner interests clash, but in the end the law will settle on whatever makes the people who pay the lawmakers happy Instead of trying to read legal precedents like tea leaves, just ask yourself who benefits? Does big tech benefit from the commons being able to legally appropriate their IP because they used AI in its creation? Obviously not So that obviously won't happen

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@krzyzanowskim@mastodon.social 2026-02-13 08:37

@nicklockwood as a human. I hate it.

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@obrhoff@mastodon.social 2026-02-13 08:38

@nicklockwood It reminds me a little bit when people thought that music labels would protect artists since they fought in the past for copyright protection. But now these labels are negotiating licensing fees to train on their catalogue. They just go where the money is and their catalogue is just an asset.

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@janl@narrativ.es 2026-02-13 08:41

@nicklockwood Looking forward to the next version of OpenWindows

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@brandonscript@appdot.net 2026-02-13 15:24

@nicklockwood nailed it

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@agowa338@chaos.social 2026-02-13 20:04

@nicklockwood Thankfully the later one is not yet over as there are also a lot of capital interests opposing this interpretation. Lawsuits are still ongoing...

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@ashley@digipres.club 2026-02-14 14:04

@nicklockwood just had to do a copyright lecture for a class I teach last week (a/v preservation) and it's hard for me to convey importance of precedent while also knowing capital is the only thing that matterssssss!!!

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@waderoberts@aus.social 2026-02-14 21:26

@nicklockwood one of the greatest trick capitalists ever pulled off was convincing creative individuals that IP laws exist to serve their interests.

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@yora@mastodon.gamedev.place 2026-02-16 06:42

@nicklockwood That's not law. That's tyranny.

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