Uploading Pirated Books via BitTorrent Qualifies as Fair Use, Meta Argues (torrentfreak.com)

Article summary

Meta is arguing that uploading pirated books via BitTorrent qualifies as fair use, as it was necessary to obtain the data for training its AI models. The company is facing a lawsuit from book authors who claim that Meta's actions constitute copyright infringement. Meta had previously won a victory in the case, with the court ruling that using pirated books to train its AI models was fair use. The new argument is an extension of this defense, claiming that the uploading of pirated books was also necessary and therefore fair use.

Main themes

• AI training data
• fair use
• copyright infringement
• piracy
• corporate exploitation
• creators' rights
• intellectual property

What commenters say

• Some people believe that big companies are exploiting the concept of fair use for their own gain, while individuals who pirated content in the past were punished.
• The use of pirated content by AI companies is seen as a threat to the livelihoods of creators, as it could lead to a loss of income and control over their work.
• Others argue that piracy has always been a norm and that the laws are unfairly applied, with big companies being allowed to pirate content while individuals are not.
• There is a concern that the exploitation of pirated content by AI companies will lead to a further erosion of creators' rights and a concentration of power in the hands of a few large corporations.
• Some commenters think that the concept of intellectual property is outdated and that a new system is needed to ensure that creators are fairly compensated for their work.
• The use of levies on storage media to compensate copyright holders for losses due to piracy is seen as a flawed system that benefits large corporations at the expense of individual creators.
• The idea that piracy is only acceptable when done by big companies is seen as hypocritical and unfair to individuals who are also pirating content.
• There is a fear that the normalization of piracy by big companies will lead to a culture of exploitation and disrespect for creators' rights.