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mycall t1_j49n0zv wrote

AI output cannot be considered copyrighted if the original text is changed over 30% (same for humans like Weird Al).

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Mystiic_Madness t1_j49oy05 wrote

Fun fact Weird Al still liceneses music from the orginal artists

> Al does get permission from the original writers of the songs that he parodies. While the law supports his ability to parody without permission, he feels it’s important to maintain the relationships that he’s built with artists and writers over the years. Plus, Al wants to make sure that he gets his songwriter credit (as writer of new lyrics) as well as his rightful share of the royalties. - Weird Al's site

The reason is because of "Write a word, Get a third" where if you write or change a lyric in a song you are entitled to a 1/3rd of the royalties.

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MuonManLaserJab t1_j49ykid wrote

He doesn't "license" them, he just asks politely because he's nice... which is what your quote says.

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Mystiic_Madness t1_j4a198z wrote

>> "Al does get permission"

> By obtaining official copyright permission from the artists, Weird Al’s attorneys negotiate royalties which vary from a flat fee buyout to royalty participation.

Link

I.e. a licence

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currentscurrents t1_j49u28o wrote

I don't think it's that simple - whether or not generative AI is considered "transformative" has not yet been tested by the courts.

Until somebody actually gets sued over this and it goes to court, we don't know how the legal system is going to handle it. There is currently a lawsuit against Github Copilot, so we will probably know in the next couple years.

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Ronny_Jotten t1_j4b3rjl wrote

There is no such 30% rule. Tests for copyright infringement are much more complex. And even if there were, a copyrighted work changed by a certain amount, so that it can by copyrighted itself, will still be a derivative work, subject to the original copyright.

Weird Al can do what he does, because it's satire, and there are exceptions for that as fair use and freedom of speech in copyright law. Try changing a Beatles song by 30%, in a non-satirical way, and see how far you get with publishing it...

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