OpenAI and Google are urging the U.S. government to permit AI training on copyrighted materials, framing it as a critical national security issue. Their proposals, submitted in response to President Trump‘s “AI Action Plan,” highlight concerns that restrictive copyright policies could undermine America’s competitive edge against China. This debate highlights the tension between protecting intellectual property and fostering AI innovation, especially as both companies face multiple lawsuits over their use of copyrighted content.
The big picture: OpenAI and Google are lobbying for AI copyright exemptions, claiming America’s global AI leadership is at stake.
- OpenAI explicitly frames the issue as “a matter of national security,” arguing that without fair use protections for AI, the U.S. risks losing its competitive advantage to China.
- Google similarly contends that copyright restrictions “can impede appropriate access to data necessary for training leading models.”
Why this matters: The companies’ stance pits intellectual property rights against technological advancement in a high-stakes global AI race.
- Both tech giants face numerous copyright infringement lawsuits from creators and publishers whose works may have been used to train their AI systems.
- The outcome of this policy debate could fundamentally reshape how AI companies access training data and determine the future trajectory of AI development.
The China factor: OpenAI specifically cites Chinese AI competition as justification for looser copyright restrictions.
- The company singles out DeepSeek, warning that “the PRC’s AI developers will enjoy unfettered access to data — including copyrighted data — that will improve their models.”
- OpenAI argues bluntly that “if the PRC’s developers have unfettered access to data and American companies are left without fair use access, the race for AI is effectively over.”
Legal landscape: AI companies face mounting legal challenges over their use of copyrighted materials.
- OpenAI is battling lawsuits from The New York Times, Sarah Silverman, George R.R. Martin, and others.
- Apple, Anthropic, and Nvidia have been accused of scraping YouTube subtitles for AI training, which YouTube claims violates its terms of service.
Different approaches: While OpenAI and Google align on copyright issues, Anthropic takes a different tack in its proposal.
- Anthropic makes no mention of copyright concerns, instead focusing on national security risk assessments for AI models and stronger export controls on AI chips.
- All three companies, however, call for infrastructure improvements, particularly energy capacity to support AI development.
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