Doe v. GitHub (Copilot appeal)

Liability for AI outputs

Is an AI provider liable when outputs copy protected works?

Provider not liable

Generating new code is not removing copyright information under the DMCA; infringement left open

Holding

Affirming dismissal, the Ninth Circuit held that DMCA section 1202(b) reaches the removal or alteration of copyright management information attached to an existing work, not a tool that generates new outputs. It rejected a strict identicality test but declined to decide whether AI outputs that reproduce protected material infringe copyright.

The first US appellate ruling on AI outputs closes the DMCA route, not the copyright one.

Sources