alt Hacker NewsPerhaps LLM outputs are uncopyrightable, but derivative works of copyrighted works are not automatically in the public domain.
Perhaps LLM outputs are uncopyrightable, but derivative works of copyrighted works are not automatically in the public domain.
That's an intriguing twist, isn't it? It could lead to a tug-of-war.
Working backwards: if it is possible to confirm 100% confidence that a chunk of text is LLM output, then it is "PD until proven otherwise". How can a human reliably assert human authorship of their source text? When all watermark tests fail? Is that proof of humanity now?
If a human proves human authorship, and LLM watermarking tests positive, then is that going to be considered a "derivative work" or not? What if there is an applicable license for the source work, such as "CC-BY-ND" that prohibits derivative works?
This has not been court-tested, and I expect that it will need testing at that level before we can have any assurances.