Copyright law still protects programmers when their work is unlawfully copied. They can still bring copyright infringement claims if someone uses a model to reproduce their code. Additionally, the plaintiffs’ contract claims against the AI companies are still in play. The specific holding here was narrow but important: that the absence of copyright information from a new work does not mean, by itself, that someone illegally removed it.
I’m not sure I fully understand their argument. If you reproduce the copyrighted work, minus the copyright information, the result is exactly the same as just… removing the copyright information. At least in the case of something digital.
Anyone can help clarify why it is seen as a win? I don't really buy the “small developers will be sued by large corporation for years and forced to settle”
Victory for the industry shills at the EFF. It is absolutely shameless that they spin this as a victory for programmers:
"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed internet users and programmers a big win today ..."
I am a programmer and I am not represented by the devious EFF liars. You support stealing my code.
Wait a second...EFF is on the side of: "it is ok to strip out my copyright string from my code"? How did they end up on that side?
I’m not sure I fully understand their argument. If you reproduce the copyrighted work, minus the copyright information, the result is exactly the same as just… removing the copyright information. At least in the case of something digital.
Anyone can help clarify why it is seen as a win? I don't really buy the “small developers will be sued by large corporation for years and forced to settle”
Because the EFF is generally not very pro-copyright and certainly, at a minimum, hates the DMCA.
I (a copyright litigator) don't buy it either.
Because the EFF is no longer the organization that may have represented your values in 2000. Foundations go evil, co-opted and bought out.
The entire article is a pro-AI shill piece from start to finish. The EFF now sells out open source.