US government files brief backing OpenAI's position on training LLMs on copyrighted material
2026-09-02
TechCrunch reported on September 2, 2026 that the US government filed a brief siding with OpenAI on the question of training LLMs on copyrighted material, arguing, per the brief's text, that "the United States has a strong interest in continuing to develop a robust and competitive artificial intelligence industry that sets the standard for the practice and procedure of AI use globally."
Significance 3: A government brief taking a position favorable to AI-competitiveness over rightsholders in an active case is a meaningful policy signal with industry-wide reach, but it is an advisory filing rather than a ruling, so held below a 4.
Implications · machine-drafted, not owner judgment
If this brief influences the court, it would tilt copyright-litigation risk in favor of AI competitiveness for every lab training on scraped data, not just OpenAI — lowering the legal exposure labs face and weakening the leverage rightsholders currently hold in suits like the Sony/Warner claims against Anthropic. It's a signal that US policy is leaning toward protecting the domestic AI industry's training practices rather than tightening them.
- The named case this brief was filed in and its eventual outcome
- Whether other labs cite this brief in their own copyright defenses
- Any legislative response to a government position favoring AI training over rightsholders
Sources
- press US government sides with OpenAI on issue of training LLMs on copyrighted material retrieved 2026-09-03