Post #3991099

2026-07-21 13:46 UTC

A federal district court just ruled that training #AI tools on copyrighted texts is fair use. https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/20/anthropics-landmark-1-5b-copyright-settlement-is-approved/ #Anthropic is in the clear for training #Claude on millions of books without permission or payment. However, it's liable for obtaining many of those books illegally, and its settlement of those claims (about $3k/title) was approved by the court. So far this decision only applies in the Northern District of California. But it breaks the ice and will (as lawyers say) be "persuasive but not binding" in other districts. #Books #Copyright #FairUse #USLaw

Replies (5)

@raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie 2026-07-21 14:36

@petersuber@fediscience.org Compare the $3k per title with penalties of file sharers corrected for inflation. Or an individual stealing cable/satellite service (can be €100,000, seizure of all electronic equipment and closure of buiness). Anything less that shutting them down, seizing data centres and ruling all titles & sites used was illegal is endorsing it. Web sites & books are content for humans to read.

Open ##3991093
@LeslieBurns@esq.social 2026-07-21 15:18

@petersuber@fediscience.org @kamellatate@mastodon.social No it didn’t. It made that fair use ruling a year ago. This settlement was about obtaining the books illegally not, technically, the fair use question.

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@miah@hachyderm.io 2026-07-21 14:26

@petersuber@fediscience.org sorry just training my actual intelligence on copyrighted material I pirated...

Open ##4257868
@raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie 2026-07-21 14:31

@petersuber@fediscience.org Disgusting USA Courts stealing creative work again. Google's scanning was also not fair use. Meanwhile evil corporations get copyright extended (Even Life+25 is plenty for an Estate), use DRM to control & Surveilled and lock works forever. The USA DMCA is also not about creator's copyright but corporate control. The USA courts and adminstration / government seems to only exist for the benefit of large USA Corporations.

Open ##4257873
@joshisanonymous@h4.io 2026-07-21 14:42

@petersuber@fediscience.org Pretty insane that a company with that much capital just decided that they'd pirate books instead of buying them.

Open ##4257876