OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a new policy to assist customers facing copyright lawsuits during a keynote speech at OpenAI’s first developer day conference.
The policy, called “Copyright Shield,” will protect customers paying any legal costs incurred due to copyright infringement claims. It will be available to ChatGPT Enterprise users and developers using the platform. A statement posted on the company’s website confirmed the policy, stating that OpenAI is committed to protecting its customers through built-in copyright safeguards in its systems.
This move is likely aimed at reducing consumer anxiety sparked unresolved copyright claims against generative AI systems. OpenAI is currently facing several lawsuits over unauthorized copyrighted material used in ChatGPT’s training data, including a suit from a group of authors, including “Game of Thrones” writer George R.R. Martin.
The US Copyright Office has been grappling with the challenges posed AI-generated content, especially in relation to copyright infringement. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI have called for users of generative AI tools to be held responsible for the results produced.
In comments submitted to the US Copyright Office, OpenAI emphasized that the nature of the output is directly influenced the user’s input and interaction with the AI model. Google, which owns ChatGPT rival Bard, also stated that any resulting liability should attach to the user.
Overall, OpenAI’s new policy is a significant step in addressing copyright issues in AI-generated content and providing legal protection to its customers.