How Copyright Licensing Could Unlock the True Potential of Responsible AI—Are We Ready?
Nearly 40 cases in federal court hinge on this question. Big Tech’s legal and public arguments against paying for content boils down to some version of, “What’s done is done, and you can’t prove it,” “We’re special and shouldn’t have to pay,” or “China steals, so why shouldn’t we?”
While litigation proceeds about whether to condone wholesale theft, policymakers should know a market-based solution already exists that can both fuel AI’s appetite for content and compensate copyright creators: opt-in licensing. Sometimes called collective or blanket licensing, rightsholders band together and offer up bulk access to their works for buyers at a commercial scale.
