The Copy-Paste Dilemma

BY: GHANEEM IRFAN WARRAICH

With the rapid advancement in technology, content is being created, shared, and reshaped at a very fast pace. The existing content on social media is being used, without permission of the original creator, to generate new content, and the cycle goes on. From YouTube videos to blogs, from TikTok videos to research journals, all content is built upon pre-existing information available on the internet. However, a legal question pops up in this context: at what point does copyright infringement commence?

Copyright law is promulgated to ensure the protection of original artistic content. However, the fair use doctrine allows people to reproduce others’ content without seeking permission at all. The criteria to evaluate fair use includes the purpose, nature and character of use. Whereas the amount of use and its due effect in the respective market also play an important role while implementing the fair use doctrine.

Creative works (novels, art, movies, and songs) have stronger copyright protection as compared to factual works (news, reports, or historical documents). The latter is often used for analytic and educational purposes and is more likely to be protected under fair use. Furthermore, any reproduction of creative works for the sole reason of criticism or commentary also falls under the domain of fair use. However, uploading content with the intention of commercial gain could be held accountable for copyright infringement.

The amount of work reproduced can be a crucial factor in determining copyright infringement. Using a small portion of work just to prove the argument amounts to fair use; whereas, using a small portion which is undeniably the central or most significant part of the original work does qualify for copyright infringement. Ultimately, the ball is in the court’s hand to determine whether the particular piece of work passes the necessary threshold or not.

It is pertinent to mention that copyright protection is not confined to formal registration. Instead, an original work automatically gets protection as soon as it is written, published or recorded. In this way, the real owner has the protection of his intellectual property (IP) rights, which in due course prevents others from infringing their right by unauthorized use. However, utilizing the unpublished work of someone without prior permission can lead to serious legal consequences as the original creator has the first right to publish his piece of work.

With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the complications with respect to copyright infringement are increasing day by day. AI is capable of generating content by combining information from various original content. Therefore, AI-generated content may be infringing the IP rights of multiple original creators at once. Furthermore, the query with respect to ownership of the AI-generated content is still unresolved. However, the biggest query is who will be held responsible when a particular AI-generated content crosses the boundary of fair use.

Indeed, the fair use doctrine serves as an essential tool in allowing certain works to be reproduced for educational, critical, or transformative purposes, ultimately enriching creative and academic discourse.  However, there is a very thin line between fair use and copyright infringement; which must not be blurred by giving value to the fair use guidelines and creating meaningful content without infringing the IP rights of other creators. Yet, the modern jurisprudence has to put along thoughts to address all the upcoming challenges.

*The writer is associated with the Law Department of the Univeristy of the Punjab