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As projected here back in October, there is now a class action lawsuit, albeit in its earliest stages, against Microsoft over its blatant license violation through its use of the M$ GitHub Copilot tool. The software project, Copilot, strips copyright licensing and attribution from existing copyrighted code on an unprecedented scale. The class action lawsuit insists that machine learning algorithms, often marketed as "Artificial Intelligence", are not exempt from copyright law nor are the wielders of such tools.
The $9 billion in damages is arrived at through scale. When M$ Copilot rips code without attribution and strips the copyright license from it, it violates the DMCA three times. So if olny 1% of its 1.2M users receive such output, the licenses were breached 12k times with translates to 36k DMCA violations, at a very low-ball estimate.
"If each user receives just one Output that violates Section 1202 throughout their time using Copilot (up to fifteen months for the earliest adopters), then GitHub and OpenAI have violated the DMCA 3,600,000 times. At minimum statutory damages of $2500 per violation, that translates to $9,000,000,000," the litigants stated.
Besides open-source licenses and DMCA (§ 1202, which forbids the removal of copyright-management information), the lawsuit alleges violation of GitHub's terms of service and privacy policies, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other laws.
The suit is on twelve (12) counts:
– Violation of the DMCA.
– Breach of contract. x2
– Tortuous interference.
– Fraud.
– False designation of origin.
– Unjust enrichment.
– Unfair competition.
– Violation of privacy act.
– Negligence.
– Civil conspiracy.
– Declaratory relief.
Furthermore, these actions are contrary to what GitHub stood for prior to its sale to M$ and indicate yet another step in ongoing attempts by M$ to undermine and sabotage Free and Open Source Software and the supporting communities.
Previously:
(2022) GitHub Copilot May Steer Microsoft Into a Copyright Lawsuit
(2022) Give Up GitHub: The Time Has Come!
(2021) GitHub's Automatic Coding Tool Rests on Untested Legal Ground
(Score: 1, Redundant) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday January 06 2023, @05:08PM (6 children)
No disambiguation needed. TFA is about Microsoft. The abbreviation "MS" in the article - if you really insist on shortening the word "Microsoft" for some reason - can in no way refer to multiple sclerosis. It would only need disambiguation if the article was about Microsoft curing multiple sclerosis or funding multiple sclerosis research. It isn't the case here.
At any rate, in 2023, when you style it as M$, you sound immature.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by HiThere on Friday January 06 2023, @05:59PM
I accept that it has that meaning to you. I didn't even notice it until it got pointed out, the usage is so common.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 06 2023, @07:08PM (2 children)
Thank you gramps for scolding those darned kids. Your harsh and demeaning words have helped make the world a better place.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Saturday January 07 2023, @03:41AM (1 child)
HEY! Get off his lawwwwwnnnn.... mumble mumble can't find my hanky....
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2023, @12:41AM
It's that sticky dripping thing in your, oh nevermind.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Ingar on Saturday January 07 2023, @11:07AM (1 child)
If in 2023, you're still not styling it M$, you obviously missed what Microsoft has been doing the past three decades.
Understanding is a three-edged sword: your side, their side, and the truth.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by RS3 on Sunday January 08 2023, @12:46AM
I didn't want to engage this any more, but since you broke the ice, exactly my thoughts: "M$" references Microsoft being greedy controlling a-holes. Point being, sometimes they seem to be pretty okay, but I've learned to be very skeptical, maybe moreso cynical of them, as this whole GitHub thing bears out.