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Copilot sells code other people wrote

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Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#561

Post by PaulKeeble »

nickjj wrote: post #535

This might be overreacting but is there a way to opt-out of Copilot using your code in open source repos? It feels morally wrong to me that I can spend thousands of hours working on projects on my own free will but then a company can sell the code I wrote to others in the form of snippet completion as a service. In fact they end up selling your code back to yourself if you plan to use the service. If the answer is no…

It should be automatic based on license. GPL code definitely shouldn't be included but MIT could be. They already have this information in most repositories and if its missing they have no right to use it at all. We don't need extra options the licenses already restrict the use and derivative work.

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#562

Post by [deleted] »

nickjj wrote: post #535

This might be overreacting but is there a way to opt-out of Copilot using your code in open source repos? It feels morally wrong to me that I can spend thousands of hours working on projects on my own free will but then a company can sell the code I wrote to others in the form of snippet completion as a service. In fact they end up selling your code back to yourself if you plan to use the service. If the answer is no…

[deleted]

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#563

Post by quietbritishjim »

nickjj wrote: post #553
jaywalk wrote: post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your code is using a license that allows it, how could you possibly opt-out aside from using a different license?

> If your code is using a license that allows it, how could you possibly opt-out aside from using a different license? A repo setting that instructs Github not to use your code for Copilot, it could be a similar option as turning Discussions on / off. If they really want to win developers over they would even have Copilot scanning disabled by default but that'll never happen.

Even if Github did provide that setting, as a courtesy, someone could clone / fork the code to another repo (if you use any licence that allows it) and not enable that setting.

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#564

Post by monocasa »

mhaymo wrote: post #505
VoodooJuJu wrote: post #364

It is now proven that copilot returns code from codebases with non-permissive licenses [1]. I'm curious - what are the legal implications of this going forward? I've so many questions. 1. Will Microsoft ever face lawsuits for these license violations? 2. If so, who/how? Class-action? 3. Will copilot be forced to open-source in the future? Under which license? Some open source licenses are incompatible with others, bu…

That regurgitated code exists on Github exists under an MIT license: https://github.com/jethrodaniel/fast_inv_sqrt "jethrodaniel" does not appear to have the copyright to offer that license, but it's hard for Github to determine that in general, so I doubt they would be liable for the error.

Even if it's somehow available under an MIT license (which is questionable on the part of jethrodaniel), there's still infringement. MIT isn't public domain, it still has

> The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

Replicating it without complying with those terms is still infringement.

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#565

Post by bastardoperator »

worker_person wrote: post #557
bastardoperator wrote: post #549

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't think a mountain of MSFT lawyers in every state, including partner law firms around the world haven't thought about this? Do you practice law or are you speculating based on emotions?

MSFT tried very hard to sue Linux into oblivion. Buying SCO, then claiming they owned all of Linux. http://www.groklaw.net/ I trust MSFT to screw everyone over.

You're making stuff up. MSFT never bought SCO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio...

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#566

Post by lbhdc »

nickjj wrote: post #535

This might be overreacting but is there a way to opt-out of Copilot using your code in open source repos? It feels morally wrong to me that I can spend thousands of hours working on projects on my own free will but then a company can sell the code I wrote to others in the form of snippet completion as a service. In fact they end up selling your code back to yourself if you plan to use the service. If the answer is no…

I stopped publishing open source after all this started coming out because I was so uncomfortable with it.

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#567

Post by rosmax_1337 »

I think this problem has no good solution until IP laws around the world are properly reimagined from the ground up. I'm of the quite radical stance that code, music, art in terms of their intellectual existence should be free for anyone to take. (you can own a harddrive with code on it, and claim noone should steal it, but not the idea of the code itself)

If you have ideas, code, music or art which you wish for noone to partake in, do your best to keep them secret. Certainly, breaking into secret areas should be illegal, but once the cat gets out of that bag it gets out of the bag.

The creative people behind these ideas I believe will be able to find good compensation nonetheless in society, IP-laws nowadays only serve to protect megacorporations to the detriment of creativity and ideas.

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#568

Post by midasuni »

concordDance wrote: post #529
VoodooJuJu wrote: post #364

It is now proven that copilot returns code from codebases with non-permissive licenses [1]. I'm curious - what are the legal implications of this going forward? I've so many questions. 1. Will Microsoft ever face lawsuits for these license violations? 2. If so, who/how? Class-action? 3. Will copilot be forced to open-source in the future? Under which license? Some open source licenses are incompatible with others, bu…

There's also one more question: 5. Even if it is illegal, is it actually bad? No one can possibly sell code snippets, the transaction costs are many orders of magnitude greater than any reasonable price. In my opinion, at least in this case the benefits massively outweigh the costs and the law should not apply here.

Some people won’t let you use their copyrighted work no matter how much you pay, that’s reasonable.

By all means allow repos to opt in, although if it’s licensed under something like GPL there’s no way to convert it to non gpl without permission from every contributor. I for one am not interested in Microsoft or anyone else paying me to close my code.

Allowing people to pay $xxx to copy my copyrighted work without my agreement is simple piracy.

Either they international agreement to drop copyright as a concept, or obey the law.

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#569

Post by Guid_NewGuid »

I find this whole topic very annoying, this is like the 3rd variation to reach the front page today. But it has made me realize why I instinctively dislike Free Software as a movement.

Copyright and licensing are bad, actually. Stop getting worked up about the idea of using courts to punish theft. Stop getting into a frenzy of arousal about the police kicking down doors to drag Billy Gates to jail because 80 characters of fast square root is theft but 79 isn't.

Where on earth is the ambition and vision!? Knowledge is public domain. A commons of knowledge is a public good. The cost of code copying is zero.

Sure in our day job we have to pretend to care about this stuff. But when did the ideological scope of what can be achieved become rules lawyering over license text.

Copy my MIT licensed code without attribution? I don't give a shit, go ahead, I hope it helps, in fact I want a truly public domain license but copyright law is so hostage to corporate interests no such thing exists in many countries.

Free the code.

Re: Copilot sells code other people wrote

#570

Post by throwaway23234 »

VoodooJuJu wrote: post #364

It is now proven that copilot returns code from codebases with non-permissive licenses [1]. I'm curious - what are the legal implications of this going forward? I've so many questions. 1. Will Microsoft ever face lawsuits for these license violations? 2. If so, who/how? Class-action? 3. Will copilot be forced to open-source in the future? Under which license? Some open source licenses are incompatible with others, bu…

Big meh. That quake code was MIT.
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