5 ms·
> Yes, the "SA" (share alike) part means if you want to use and modify the words then you need to release them under license that is at least as permissive, bu
by progval 2y ago
> Yes, the "SA" (share alike) part means if you want to use and modify the words then you need to release them under license that is at least as permissive, but LLMs aren't using the words; they are clearly digesting the facts and expressing them in their own words
The CC BY-SA text <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode.en https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode.en> says nothing about the words. The words "word" and "words" do not even appear in the legal text. What it says, however, is:
> In addition to the conditions in Section 3(a) , if You Share Adapted Material You produce, the following conditions also apply.
> 1. The Adapter’s License You apply must be a Creative Commons license with the same License Elements, this version or later, or a BY-SA Compatible License.
> 2. You must include the text of, or the URI or hyperlink to, the Adapter's License You apply. You may satisfy this condition in any reasonable manner based on the medium, means, and context in which You Share Adapted Material.
where "Adapted Material" is defined as:
> material subject to Copyright and Similar Rights that is derived from or based upon the Licensed Material and in which the Licensed Material is translated, altered, arranged, transformed, or otherwise modified in a manner requiring permission under the Copyright and Similar Rights held by the Licensor. For purposes of this Public License, where the Licensed Material is a musical work, performance, or sound recording, Adapted Material is always produced where the Licensed Material is synched in timed relation with a moving image.
So if you want to argue that LLMs don't have to follow the SA clause, then you have to argue either that:
1. LLMs aren't an arrangement or transformation of their input, or
2. the license doesn't apply at all, eg. because it's fair use in whatever jurisdiction they fall under.
OpenAI is using argument 2 <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37780199 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37780199>.
- anileated 2y agoLLMs do not operate on ideas, they do not understand things. They operate on tokens which are phonemes, words or phrases. Think of it as a fancy autocomplete.
- jessriedel 2y agoThe ability for a person to freely use facts/concepts/ideas learned from a copyrighted source does not require the person to "understand" them. (How on Earth would a court ever determine that?)
- anileated 2y agoIt’s a legal thing. Is an LLM a person?
- jessriedel 2y agoI don’t understand what you’re arguing
- anileated 2y agoI asked a question. What are you arguing?
- jessriedel 2y agoI'm using "words" as an informal summary of the large legal concept of what can be copyrighted, and "facts/concepts/ideas" for what cannot be. So it's not quite a fair use argument (which someone uses the words for certain protected purposes like parody), and I do not think OpenAI is making a fair use argument (although I'd welcome links to the contrary). In other words, it has nothing to do with your or anyone else's interpretation of what the CC license claims to protect ("an arrangement or transformation"), and only relies on what rights they are legally allowed to assert.