# Wikimedia urges court to separate AI training from outputs in copyright case

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/wikipedias-operator-says-a-bad-ai-copyright-ruling-could-threaten-the-open-web/
- Published: 2026-10-30T09:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-30T09:17:54+00:00
- Original publisher: The Verge
- Original article: https://www.theverge.com/policy/1022880/wikipedia-openai-new-york-times-copyright
- Topics: AI, Technology

## Key points

- Wikimedia proposes different copyright rules for AI training and outputs.
- It says AI reproduction that replaces original works should require a licence.
- Wikipedia relies on open knowledge and says AI brings both risks and useful tools.

## Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation has urged a US court to distinguish between AI training and AI outputs in copyright cases involving publishers, OpenAI and Microsoft. It says a broad ruling either way could harm access to knowledge: restricting training could limit useful tools, while allowing AI systems to reproduce protected material could weaken the open web and its creators.

In an amicus brief, Wikimedia argues that scraping and using copyrighted works to pre-train large language models can qualify as fair use when the models produce something new. But AI companies should need licences when their systems return material that substitutes for the original and draws readers away. Wikimedia says models can help Wikipedia editors, while also raising concerns about uncredited reuse of its Creative Commons content and reduced visits to its sites.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.