Category Archives: copyright

Connecting “Copyrights in AI” to Copyright and Licensing Homework

In the rapidly advancing world of artificial intelligence (AI), the intersection of technology and law has become increasingly complex. One of the most pressing legal issues is how copyright laws apply to AI-generated content. This is exactly what the article, “Copyrights in AI: Legal Overview” from HackerNoon offers, the author discusses the implications of copyright laws in the context of AI, focusing on whether AI can be considered an author of creative works, and how this impacts the rights of those who use AI to create content.

The article provides a clear overview of the current state of copyright law as it pertains to AI. Traditionally, copyright laws have protected works created by human authors, but with the rise of AI-generated content, it led me to ask: “can an AI be considered an author in its own right, or does the copyright belong to the human who programmed the AI, or the user who directed its output?” I learned that, under current law, AI cannot be considered an author in its own right, and the copyright typically belongs to the human creator or the user of the AI. This reflects a fundamental principle that we explore in our class, especially when considering software licenses. For example, when choosing a license for a software project, it is essential to understand the ownership of contributions and the rights of the contributors.

I selected this resource because the legal implications of AI are an area of particular interest to me, especially as AI continues to grow in influence and application across various industries. In one of my other classes, Computing Ethics, we talked about the ethical responsibilities and legal dilemmas surrounding the use of AI. The context being medical fields or business, how would the use of AI affect the users using it. This article connects those themes by highlighting the legal aspects of AI usage and authorship, which I had not fully considered before. It helped me understand that as AI technology becomes more sophisticated, the law may need to adapt to address new challenges.

By exploring “Copyrights in AI: Legal Overview” and reflecting on the licensing aspects discussed in my homework, I have gained a deeper understanding of how AI-related legal issues intersect with software licensing. In our Copyright and Licensing Homework, we focus on understanding different licensing models and the implications they have on the use and distribution of software so understanding who owns the rights to AI-generated works is critical to deciding how those works can be shared, modified, or distributed.

I expect to apply this knowledge when working with software projects, ensuring that the terms and conditions of any AI tools or systems used are clearly defined. As AI continues to grow in capabilities and its integration into software development increases, I believe this knowledge will be essential to navigating the complex legal landscape.

Link to the resource: HackerNoon article: Copyrights in AI: Legal Overview

From the blog SoftwareDiary by Oanh Nguyen and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Software Licenses

Telling the Do’s and Don’t of your own code

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

Hello Debug Ducker here again, and it’s time to talk about legal stuff involving software. Now I am not a lawyer but I am a coder and this is related to that. It still may require some independent research on your behalf but what I have to say is still important. Copyright, love it or hate it is here to stay. Copyright is involved in a lot of things such as movies, products, and even software. Yes, software can have a copyright applied to it, how can this be the case? Well, it is rather simple, if you make the code, as in you wrote it , you are the sole copyright holder of that code. “So why does this matter”, which is what you are probably thinking. It matters because then copyright laws would apply meaning that their are restrictions on someone using your code. “Well, I don’t care, let them use it”. They can’t cause copyright won’t allow them to do so, and some don’t want to risk legal issues. So this is where licenses come in. 

License are a set of guidelines on how a person can use and redistribute the software and it is an essential tool for the field. Now licenses are something you can grab, and put in a section of your software and not something you make yourself.  You shouldn’t make your own license yourself, ever, as that can cause legal troubles. If you want your code to be free to use with almost no restrictions, there is a license for that, if you want a bit of restriction on what they can use it for there is also a license for that. You can pick what suits your needs and should be all set. I won’t go too in-depth about all the licenses cause there are quite a bit, but there are a few resources I can share that can help you find the right license for your work

https://choosealicense.com/

The site above can help guide you on the many different licenses that are out there and can give a gist of the guidelines in the licenses. It is helpful too for developers who just need a quick way to find the right license for what they want to achieve with their software. I can see myself using such a tool in the future. Hope you enjoy this talk about the use of licenses, I hope this was helpful. Thank you for your time.

From the blog Debug Duck by debugducker and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.