As part of a proposal for the U.S. government’s “AI Action Plan,” an initiative launched under the Trump administration to reshape American AI policy, OpenAI has called for a copyright strategy that safeguards AI models’ ability to learn from copyrighted content.
According to OpenAI, America’s strong AI ecosystem—marked by numerous startups, substantial investment, and groundbreaking research—owes much to the fair use doctrine, which supports AI development.
In its statement, OpenAI emphasized that maintaining fair use protections is essential for continued innovation, arguing that AI models must be allowed to learn from a wide range of materials, including copyrighted works.
This is not the first time OpenAI has advocated for more flexible laws regarding AI training. The company has historically trained its models on publicly available web data, often without the explicit knowledge or consent of content owners.
In a submission to the U.K.’s House of Lords last year, OpenAI asserted that limiting AI training to public domain content could be an interesting experiment but would fail to produce AI systems capable of meeting modern user needs. The company maintains that access to diverse data sources is crucial for training effective AI models.
However, OpenAI’s stance has sparked controversy, particularly among content creators and publishers who argue that its data usage practices constitute copyright infringement. Several content owners have already taken legal action against OpenAI, and its renewed call for broader fair use protections is likely to intensify the ongoing debate.
As discussions around AI policy evolve, OpenAI continues to push for legal frameworks that support AI development while critics demand stronger protections for intellectual property rights.
