GoKawiilEFF Urges Courts to Reject AI-Driven Expansion of Copyright Law
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is pushing back against a wave of lawsuits in which major rightsholders ask courts to broaden copyright protections in response to generative AI. EFF argues this mirrors past panics over VTRs, player pianos, and cameras, technologies once feared to destroy creative industries but which instead expanded them. It warns that rightsholders' 'market dilution' theory, claiming AI tools threaten creative markets simply by existing, would improperly stretch copyright law based on speculation rather than evidence.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
If courts accept the argument that building AI tools is inherently unfair because of hypothetical future competition, it could grant existing rightsholders sweeping control over technologies and works they didn't create, chilling innovation and new forms of creativity. The outcome of these cases will shape whether copyright law adapts to protect established industries or continues serving its original purpose of encouraging new creators and markets.
- EFF compares AI copyright panic to historical fears about VTRs, player pianos, and cameras that proved unfounded.
- Rightsholders are pushing a 'market dilution' theory to argue AI tool development isn't fair use.
- EFF warns courts against expanding 300-year-old copyright principles based on speculation rather than facts.
Cory Doctorow, "Information Doesn't Want to Be Free — If the EFF's argument about copyright panics and new technology grabbed you, this book digs into exactly that terrain: how copyright rules shape what creators and audiences can actually do. Doctorow writes for working artists and curious readers alike, making it a great companion to the AI debate playing out in the courts right now.
See Cory Doctorow, "Information Doesn't Want to Be Free on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: eff.org — Tori Noble, 2026-09-01
Published there as: “EFF to Courts: Don't Rewrite Copyright over AI Hype”
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