Fair Use, Copyright, and AI: What Higher Ed Leaders Need to Understand Now
Dec 12, 2025Fair Use, Copyright, and AI: What Higher Ed Leaders Need to Understand Now
Copyright has always been complex, but the rise of generative AI has pushed it into new—and often confusing—territory. Scholars, artists, journalists, and educators are now confronting questions few imagined a decade ago:
Who owns the content used to train AI?
When is AI-generated work “transformative”?
Does fair use apply when millions of works are scraped at once?
And what happens to creators whose work is absorbed without attribution?
These are not abstract concerns. They are reshaping careers, scholarship, and the ethics of teaching.
When AI Crosses the Line
In our interview with Rachel Sweeney, she explained how major AI companies trained their models on copyrighted books, journal articles behind paywalls, news archives, creative works, and more—much of it without permission.
Some companies simply assumed fair use would cover their practices. Others relied on the idea that producing new text makes the use “transformative.” But the legal definition of transformative use is far narrower than many assume.
Meanwhile, the consequences accumulate:
- Creators lose income.
- Scholars lose attribution.
- Students lose clarity about what ethical use even means.
And courts are only beginning to catch up.
A Framework for Educators and Leaders
Higher education has a responsibility to model ethical decision-making around AI. That means more than drafting policy—it means teaching people how to think about these tools. Leaders can:
- Clarify the difference between educational fair use and commercial fair use.
- Build transparent AI guidelines into course design and assessment.
- Encourage faculty to talk openly about how they use AI and how they don’t.
- Support librarians as campus experts on copyright and licensing.
- Reinforce that citation is not optional—even when AI blurs the lines.
Educators help shape the next generation of ethical creators and researchers. We cannot outsource that responsibility to machines.
Ethics Is Not Optional—Especially Now
Fair use exists to support the public good, creativity, and access—not to shield large companies as they extract value from creators without consent.
As Rachel reminded us, copyright is ultimately about protecting the people who produce the knowledge we rely on. AI may change how we create, but it should not change what we value.
For a deeper dive into these issues—including real cases, examples, and emerging solutions—listen to Rachel’s full episode on the Engaged By Design Podcast.
Stay connected with news and updates!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
