人工智能时代著作权合理使用制度的重塑

Reshaping the Fair Use System in Copyright Law in the AI Era

人工智能技术的兴起对传统的合理使用制度提出了严峻挑战。从结构主义整体观出发的研究表明,随着AI学习和创作的发展,传统版权法的"作者中心主义"和严格的"三步检验法"不能适应AI技术变革的需要。为了促进创新和AI技术的发展,合理使用应当扩张并进行制度重塑。首先应以"合理使用"这一术语替代"限制与例外"。其次,随着AI创作的兴起、人类作者角色的淡出和作者的"袪魅",应当重构版权保护与合理使用的关系,将合理使用提升至与版权保护比肩的地位。再次,应当将为了AI学习、创作使用版权作品纳入合理使用的范围,但如果AI"输出"的作品与原作品实质相似,则应当属于版权人的控制范围。最后,我国著作权法应当采用灵活的、有弹性的合理使用立法模式。

Artificial intelligence(AI) or "machine learning" poses a serious challenge to the boundary of fair use due to its massive use of data, including copyrighted works. In order to mitigate the concerns about massive copyright infringement and promote the development of data mining and AI learning, many countries have made legislative responses to this challenge. Although China has adopted the "three-step test" in its newly-revised Copyright Law, this test provides only some "semi-closed" limitations and exceptions, rather than the necessary legal mechanism for accommodating the massive "learning" and use of copyrighted works by AI. Reflection from the holistic perspective of structuralism shows that, the traditional copyright law, consisting of broad reproduction rights and narrow "limitations and exceptions", cannot meet the need for massive use of copyrighted works in the AI era. In order to promote AI learning and technological innovation, the current "limitations and exceptions" system should be expanded and reshaped. Firstly, the term "fair use" should be adopted to replace "limitations and exceptions". Secondly, with the rise of AI creation and the gradual fading of the role of human authors, the relationship between copyright protection and fair use should be reconstructed, and the status of the fair use system should be improved. Thirdly, the massive use of copyrighted works for AI learning and creation should be covered in the scope of fair use. Only the "output" work generated by AI will fall under the control of copyright holders when it is substantially similar to the original work. Finally, it is advisable for China to adopt an elastic and flexible fair use legislative model in its copyright law.