Fair use benefits everyone

For decades, fair use has played a critical role in driving innovation that benefits everyone. It has helped deliver important medical and scientific breakthroughs and new technologies that have made real and positive differences for countless people, including authors and journalists. The New York Times’ lawsuit, meanwhile, asks everyone to ignore a half century of legal history and progress, and toss aside the longstanding principle of fair use in their own narrow pursuit of an undeserved payday.

Experts and leaders across a wide range of fields have recognized that fair use is a win-win that benefits everyone, and have shared their perspectives with the Court in filing briefs in support of fair use.

Below you’ll find excerpts from some of those submissions, in their own words. The full filings are available on the public court docket, and you can read more about fair use and AI here.

AI Progress

The Court should reject Plaintiffs’ attempt to extend copyright beyond its established limits. AI training uses copyrighted works for a fundamentally different purpose, does not provide the public with substitute access to those works, and does not cause the market harm cognizable under the Copyright Act. Instead, it enables a broad array of transformative technologies that are already delivering public benefits. Copyright exists to promote creativity and progress, not to suppress lawful innovation or protect authors from competition. Settled fair use principles therefore compel the conclusion that generative AI training is fair use.

Link to this section

American Council of the Blind, Association of Research Libraries, American Library Association, Consumer Technology Association & Business Software Alliance

Link to this section

Authors Alliance

Link to this section

Engine and Developers Alliance

Link to this section

Foundation for American Innovation

Link to this section

Joshua S. Gans

Professor of Strategic Management

Link to this section

Kevin Kelly

Author

Link to this section