4 ms·

> that then reproduces near replica's of my code Copying a few lines is not the same as copying the whole thing. Sharing quotes from a book is not copyright in

> that then reproduces near replica's of my code Copying a few lines is not the same as copying the whole thing. Sharing quotes from a book is not copyright infringement.

bawolff 4y ago
I dont think that's comparable. For starters, its not just the length of a quote that makes it fair use, but the way quotes are used i.e. to engage in commentary.
heavyset_go 4y ago
If your intent is to create a competing product for profit, chances are that won't be found as fair use, given that determining fair use depends on intent and how the content is used. Using clips from a movie in a movie review is probably fair use. Using clips from a movie in knock-off of that movie for profit? Probably not fair use if it's not a parody. Copilot is not like a movie reviewer using clips to review a movie. Copilot is like a production team for a movie taking clips from another movie to make a ripoff of that movie and selling it.
- rolenthedeep 4y ago
  Interesting analogy. Consider every repo on github to be a movie. Copilot is taking individual frames out of every movie on github and composting them into a new film. I think most of us would agree that individually, each frame is copyrighted. But what if you take one frame from a million different movies and put them in an order that produces a new coherent movie? The core question we need to settle in court is: does the new movie become its own copyrightable work, or is it plagiarism?
  - teddyh 4y ago
    The question was basically settled with music sampling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(music)#Legal_and_ethical_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(music)#Legal_and_eth... I.e. any use without permission is illegal.
- cheriot 4y ago
  > Copilot is like a production team for a movie taking clips from another movie to make a ripoff of that movie and selling it. I can't think of a 5 line snippet I've written or read that makes sense to claim ownership of. They don't stand on their own in the way even a 30s movie clip does.
- az226 4y ago
  You're mistaking the end-user's copyright infringement with Copilot's alleged infringement. Copilot is fair use and transformative -- that is unless there is an open source Copilot that Copilot is training on, only then would it be competing and it's easy for GitHub or OpenAI to exclude those repos of copilot alternatives from the training set.
test098 4y ago
> Sharing quotes from a book is not copyright infringement. It is if I take those quotes and publish them as my own in my own book.

> that then reproduces near replica's of my code Copying a few lines is not the same as copying the whole thing. Sharing quotes from a book is not copyright infringement.

bawolff 4y ago

I dont think that's comparable. For starters, its not just the length of a quote that makes it fair use, but the way quotes are used i.e. to engage in commentary.

heavyset_go 4y ago

If your intent is to create a competing product for profit, chances are that won't be found as fair use, given that determining fair use depends on intent and how the content is used. Using clips from a movie in a movie review is probably fair use. Using clips from a movie in knock-off of that movie for profit? Probably not fair use if it's not a parody. Copilot is not like a movie reviewer using clips to review a movie. Copilot is like a production team for a movie taking clips from another movie to make a ripoff of that movie and selling it.

rolenthedeep 4y ago
Interesting analogy. Consider every repo on github to be a movie. Copilot is taking individual frames out of every movie on github and composting them into a new film. I think most of us would agree that individually, each frame is copyrighted. But what if you take one frame from a million different movies and put them in an order that produces a new coherent movie? The core question we need to settle in court is: does the new movie become its own copyrightable work, or is it plagiarism?
- teddyh 4y ago
  The question was basically settled with music sampling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(music)#Legal_and_ethical_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(music)#Legal_and_eth... I.e. any use without permission is illegal.
cheriot 4y ago
> Copilot is like a production team for a movie taking clips from another movie to make a ripoff of that movie and selling it. I can't think of a 5 line snippet I've written or read that makes sense to claim ownership of. They don't stand on their own in the way even a 30s movie clip does.
az226 4y ago
You're mistaking the end-user's copyright infringement with Copilot's alleged infringement. Copilot is fair use and transformative -- that is unless there is an open source Copilot that Copilot is training on, only then would it be competing and it's easy for GitHub or OpenAI to exclude those repos of copilot alternatives from the training set.

test098 4y ago

> Sharing quotes from a book is not copyright infringement. It is if I take those quotes and publish them as my own in my own book.