[mullingitover]

This will likely just entrench the companies with pockets deep enough to satisfy the lawyers in the class action suits. It might burn down a startup. On the other hand, if Microsoft thinks it's a potential $500 billion business, a $1 billion settlement is just table stakes.

[Sebguer]

This ignores that a legal remedy can be "you can no longer offer this as a product".

[mullingitover]

That likely wouldn't be on the table in a settlement offer, and it might be a tough sell for the plaintiff class to get nothing or a protracted legal battle instead of an easy and significant payout. Anything is possible, but I don't think a lawsuit's likely outcome in this situation would be a scorched earth fight.

[dfadsadsf]

Has this ever happen in practice for well funded company outside Napster case? I am skeptical that training on publicly accessible data can be ruled illegal. Too many side effects including making Google Search problematic.