In terms of copyright law, it's not clear that the model weights are derivative works from the training material. At this time, I think courts would lean towards the weights not being a derivative work. And even if it is a derivative work, it could be considered transformative use and therefore not a violation of copyright. Therefore, IMHO the creator of the model can license the model weights however they want to, regardless of the material that was used to train it.
For now, anyways.
If model weights are ruled derivative works of copyrighted material, it would wipe trillions of dollars off the S&P500 overnight. Currently, copyrighted works are needed to train all the big foundational models - and there's no practical or cost-effective way to get a license for all of it.
For now, anyways.
If model weights are ruled derivative works of copyrighted material, it would wipe trillions of dollars off the S&P500 overnight. Currently, copyrighted works are needed to train all the big foundational models - and there's no practical or cost-effective way to get a license for all of it.