Microsoft Vows To Cover Users Who Get Sued From Using Its AI Productivity Tools

Photo 225322802 © 777ers | Dreamstime.com

Much like how word processors revolutionized the way people worked, generative artificial intelligence tools like text-to-image creators and chatbots have become much-needed assistants for many. 

Microsoft evolved its ever-prevalent productivity apps to accommodate today’s AI-assisted routines with ‘Copilot’, a platform that lets users dream up decks, draft notes, and create spreadsheets with simple text prompts. The ecosystem encapsulates services like Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot, which employ generative AI in applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and software development, to help users work more efficiently and creatively.

The company believes generative tools like Copilot are the way forward for boosting productivity and “unlocking new levels of creativity.”

As it stands, though, the world of generative AI remains largely unmoderated, giving rise to copyright concerns that the company acknowledges has been flagged out to it by creators. As such, it has introduced a new Copilot Copyright Commitment to protect customers who are challenged on intellectual property grounds over the use of these creation tools and their outputs. 

Through this commitment, Microsoft is assuming responsibility for any IP risks involved in the use of Copilot services. The firm joins the ranks of other tech giants who are offering to pay for generative AI users’ legal fees.

In particular, if a third party sues a commercial customer for copyright infringement related to the use of Microsoft’s Copilots or their generated content, the company will defend the customer and cover the costs of any adverse judgments or settlements, so long as the user has adhered to its guardrails and content filters put in place to respect copyright concerns and minimize the likelihood of infringing content.

On users’ part, they must also refrain from generating infringing materials or inputting data that they do not have the rights to use.

“We believe in standing behind our customers when they use our products. We are charging our commercial customers for our Copilots, and if their use creates legal issues, we should make this our problem rather than our customers’ problem,” note the company’s vice chair and president, Brad Smith, and CVP and chief legal officer, Hossein Nowbar, in a blog post detailing the program.

Microsoft says this move is an extension of its long history of defending customers in legal entanglements. “This philosophy is not new: For roughly two decades we’ve defended our customers against patent claims relating to our products, and we’ve steadily expanded this coverage over time.” 

[via The Register, Bloomberg, Microsoft, cover photo 225322802 © 777ers | Dreamstime.com]