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Judge Questions Meta's Fair Use Defense in AI Copyright Case

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria scrutinizes claims of market harm and transformative use in authors' lawsuit against Meta's AI model training practices.

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Mallet of a judge, with books and scales of justice in background, of a court-like scene. on the floor, place for typography. Courtroom theme
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Overview

  • Judge Vince Chhabria expressed skepticism over Meta's argument that its use of copyrighted works for AI training qualifies as fair use, citing potential market harm to authors.
  • The case, Kadrey v. Meta, involves allegations that Meta used pirated books from shadow libraries like LibGen without permission to train its Llama AI model.
  • Meta acknowledges downloading books en masse but argues its actions are transformative and protected under the fair use doctrine.
  • Chhabria questioned whether the authors, including Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, can substantiate claims that Meta's AI tools harm the market for their works.
  • A ruling in the case is expected to set a significant precedent for generative AI copyright litigation, with broader implications for the tech and creative industries.