DeVault: GitHub Copilot and open source laundering [LWN.net]

DeVault: GitHub Copilot and open source laundering

Posted Jun 26, 2022 9:40 UTC (Sun) by gspr (subscriber, #91542)
In reply to: DeVault: GitHub Copilot and open source laundering by NYKevin
Parent article: DeVault: GitHub Copilot and open source laundering

> It's not clear to me whether this claim is actually correct. A model is ultimately "just" a big bag of statistical information, and I honestly don't know whether (US) copyright law attaches to such things in the first place, but I'm skeptical (see e.g. Feist v. Rural).

Surely it does apply in one extreme, namely that of a really good model! If I take a copyrighted picture and create a model that very accurately reproduces said picture, I don't think it's very unlikely that my model runs afoul of the original's copyright.

In the other extreme—that of a really terrible model—it probably doesn't, but we probably shouldn't write off the models in-between those extremes.

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DeVault: GitHub Copilot and open source laundering

Posted Jun 27, 2022 16:51 UTC (Mon) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link] (3 responses)

Are you talking about a real-world model - like you made an aircraft model from a photo of an aircraft? In that case it's a physical object and patent rules should apply, or design rules, and NOT copyright rules.

If, however, you're referring to a model like most people here are - computer science, otherwise known as maths - then equally copyright should NOT apply, because it's maths. Or "sweat of the brow". Or a whole other bunch of doctrines that lawyers do their best to mis-understand but that state quite clearly it is not copyrightable material.

Cheers,
Wol

DeVault: GitHub Copilot and open source laundering

Posted Jun 28, 2022 1:26 UTC (Tue) by hummassa (guest, #307) [Link] (1 responses)

I will offer an informed alternative to your pov, Wol:

If a mathematical model produces as its output a perfect reproduction of an copyrightable and copyrighted work (something novel produced by the human mind), then said mathematical model is nothing but a copying apparatus. There is no difference between the neural model of Copilot and a big HD containing all the works it's seen, just well indexed. The output is just a copy of the copyrighted work, subject to the same protections under the laws and treaties.

DeVault: GitHub Copilot and open source laundering

Posted Jun 28, 2022 8:00 UTC (Tue) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

(And to gspr)

Oh the joys of the ambiguity of English ...

As I read it "copyright attaches to the model" - in other words there is no copyright *in* the model. But if there is copyright in the *original*, then that applies *to* the model as well ...

I think we're talking at cross purposes ... :-)

Cheers,
Wol

DeVault: GitHub Copilot and open source laundering

Posted Jun 28, 2022 6:37 UTC (Tue) by gspr (subscriber, #91542) [Link]

By this logic, unlicensed redistribution of copyrighted images, video and audio are fine as long as the material is recompressed. It's just math!

Clearly absurd.