Copyright Kills Competition

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is participating in Copyright Week, a⁢ series of discussions focused ‍on copyright policy and it’s impact on creativity and innovation. A‍ central⁤ argument this week is that current copyright ‌law ⁤isn’t protecting​ creators from large corporations – it’s empowering them.

Copyright owners frequently ⁤enough argue stronger laws⁢ are needed ​to ‌combat⁣ tech giants. Though, these policies actually ⁣consolidate​ power among a few corporate gatekeepers, harming creators and limiting consumer‍ choice. We need a system ‍that lowers barriers to entry and fosters grassroots ⁣innovation.

Strengthening copyright won’t meaningfully help ​artists and creators.​ Giving⁣ them‌ more rights, when they lack bargaining power against‍ publishers and other‍ gatekeepers,‍ is like giving a bullied child money, only for the bully to take ​it.

History demonstrates this problem. From the late 2000s to ​the mid-2010s, music publishers and record labels secured multimillion-dollar direct licensing deals ‍with streaming​ and video platforms. Google reportedly paid over $400 million to one label, and Spotify ‌gave major labels an 18‌ percent stake in its⁢ now-$100 billion company. Yet, artists frequently don’t receive their​ fair share of these payments or benefit from equity⁢ arrangements. There’s no indication‍ this would change‌ with new​ copyright ⁢rules.

AI Training

As artificial intelligence develops, copyright ⁢might ⁣ seem like⁣ a way to protect creators from tech companies profiting from their ⁢work. But it isn’t. Actually, it could have ⁤the opposite effect. ⁢Building large language models requires training on massive⁤ datasets. Requiring licenses for this ⁤training data ⁤would limit competition to only ​the largest corporations -​ those with existing data ‍troves‍ or the financial resources to acquire them.