Graham Perrin

@grahamperrin@bsd.cafe

March 14, 2026 at 4:31:18 PM
·

while it's possible that the courts could come up with a 3rd option, the vast majority of the analysis I've seen results in this going one of two ways:

• LLMs can copywash a license away, in which case there's nothing from preventing a "clean room" LLMwashing of things like MS Windows source-code or Photoshop; and at least in the US, the output of LLMs has been determined to not be copyrightable, so effectively public-domaining any existing source-code it (re)"creates", infuriating big companies that rely on copyright (software, publishing, music, etc)

• LLMs can't copywash, so original licensing still holds. LLM output that effectively reproduces copyrighted material would likely result in lots of verdicts of infringement against modern AI companies

Elk Logo

Elk is in Preview!

Thanks for your interest in trying out Elk, our work-in-progress Mastodon web client!

Expect some bugs and missing features here and there. we are working hard on the development and improving it over time.

Elk is Open Source. If you'd like to help with testing, giving feedback, or contributing, reach out to us on GitHub and get involved.

To boost development, you can sponsor the Team through GitHub Sponsors. We hope you enjoy Elk!

Anthony Fu三咲智子 Kevin DengPatakDaniel Roe

The Elk Team