Artificial intelligence is already rewriting the rules of creativity, business, and ownership—but are those rewrites legal? A new argument from a group of law professors suggests that training AI models on pirated content could qualify as fair use under U.S. copyright law. As reported by TorrentFreak, these academics claim that AI training, even when it involves unauthorized content, doesn’t necessarily infringe on copyright protections.
The Case for Fair Use
According to these legal scholars, AI models don’t “consume” or “distribute” copyrighted content in the traditional sense. Instead, they process vast amounts of data to learn patterns—which, they argue, is similar to a human reading a book and later drawing inspiration from it. Since the AI isn’t directly copying and republishing the works, some claim this falls under transformative use.
The Slippery Slope of AI and Copyright
But let’s be honest—this is a dangerous precedent. If scraping pirated books, movies, and music to train AI is fair use, where does that leave actual creators? AI companies profit from this data, but the original artists, writers, and filmmakers see nothing in return.
The argument also ignores the real-world impact of AI-generated content flooding the market. If models are trained on copyrighted works, then spit out derivative, AI-created versions, is that not direct competition with human creators? When companies use AI-generated images, music, or even articles based on copyrighted sources, they’re effectively monetizing stolen work.
Who Benefits?
Big tech and AI startups stand to gain the most if courts accept this fair use argument. They get unlimited access to massive datasets without having to license or compensate content owners. Meanwhile, artists and writers who rely on copyright protections risk losing control over their work, as AI-generated media dilutes the value of human-made content.
The Future of AI and Copyright Law
If courts buy into this argument, the floodgates could open for unrestricted AI training on everything—pirated or not. That’s a terrifying prospect for creators who already struggle with AI-generated competition. While fair use is meant to promote creativity and innovation, it shouldn’t be a loophole for tech giants to exploit copyrighted work without consent or compensation.
AI is powerful, but it shouldn’t be above the law. If training AI on stolen content is fair use, then maybe it’s time we rethink what fair use really means.