Wikipedia’s operator says a bad AI copyright ruling could threaten the open web

What happened

The Wikimedia Foundation filed an amicus brief Friday in publishers’ copyright lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft, advocating protection for transformative LLM training while requiring licenses for outputs that substitute for original works. Wikimedia argues that overly broad rulings could jeopardize useful AI tools or undermine the communities sustaining open knowledge. For Wikipedia content, it says companies should follow Creative Commons requirements, including attribution and keeping adaptations under the same license.

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The story so far

The Wikimedia Foundation filed an amicus brief in publishers’ copyright lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft, urging courts to protect transformative large language model training under fair use while requiring licenses for outputs that substitute for original works. The nonprofit behind Wikipedia took neither side in the cases, which involve publishers including The New York Times. Wikimedia argued that overly broad rulings could jeopardize useful AI tools or undermine the communities that sustain open knowledge. For Wikipedia content, it said companies should comply with Creative Commons requirements, including attribution and keeping adaptations under the same license.