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The thing is that it probably isn't. The thing you call "laundering" is probably actually fine. The thing that people misunderstand is that copyright is written such that it never protects function. If your code is open source, then I can write code that does the same thing, and if I can't because your code perfectly encapsulates the function, it's inseparable from that function and thus isn't eligible for copyright protection at all.

https://casetext.com/case/kern-river-gas-transmission-v-coas...

Your comments and creative expression are the only portions of your code that are protected by copyright. The function isn't.



These models will output verbatim copies of copyrighted code though, comments and all.


I understand that. And with the comments it's almost certainly infringing.

If you strip the comments out, though, it's questionable.


usually only happens if the user is baiting the AI to generate such code, or the scenario is so simple that there's basically no other way to code it.




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