Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has defended the right of AI companies to train their models on publicly available data, citing U.S. fair use laws. His comments come as artificial intelligence firm Anthropic faces a $1.5 billion copyright settlement.
Yakovenko's argument
Yakovenko said using public data for AI training falls under fair use, a legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission. He argued the practice is critical for innovation in the AI sector. The Solana executive's stance puts him alongside other tech leaders who have pushed back against what they see as overly restrictive copyright claims.
The Anthropic case
Anthropic, an AI safety and research company, is reportedly facing a $1.5 billion copyright settlement. The case involves allegations that the company used copyrighted works to train its AI models without authorization. The size of the settlement underscores the high stakes for AI firms navigating intellectual property law.
Legal uncertainty
The $1.5 billion figure highlights the financial risks for AI companies. Whether Yakovenko's fair use interpretation will hold up in court is an unresolved question that the Anthropic case may help answer.
