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Copywash (verb) KAH-pee-wash

To cover up the use of a morally dubious generative AI technique by training a layer on top of it with one's own IP.

"We're okay to use v3.1 despite the IP issues because we copywashed it with our own model."

A quick guide to copywashing

These are observed techniques, and NOT recommendations.

Celebrity chimeras

One celebrity owns her likeness. But three celebrities don't.

Use ScarJo's face in your project and she can sue you. Mix her face with a few other faces and you have a brand new face that you own. Sort of.

Benefits: Cheap consistency in both written and image-generated works without training.

Drawbacks: According to some armchair Internet lawyers, now three people can sue you.

"She's the same in each generated image... usually."

an image of Gwyn Theronsson and her completely unique beauty
Gwyn Theronsson, a 100% new and original character.
None of DC's intellectual property was harmed in the creation of this image. The S stands for "spurious legal grounds."

Crosstraining

Is the other team cheating? Copy their work and claim the moral high ground.

If you can't match the progress of a competitor, just train your next thing on their outputs.

Is this stealing? Probably yes. But it's stealing from a thief, so it's okay. They stole from artists! Your AI learned how to draw Superman from thieves, not directly from DC's copyrighted material.

Benefits: Get next-generation results without next-generation effort.

Drawbacks: The 'morality' people sometimes apply their rules equally, and will now go after you, not the person you accused of being a thief.

"A few of their images may have ended up in our dataset. It's hard to know."

Copywashing

Pre-hoodwink the jury with this sophisticated copyright laundering.

The namesake technique involves three steps: 1) Take a generative AI product that was trained on millions or billions of copyrighted images. 2) Train a model for it on 20 of your own images. 3) It's now safe to use the underlying technology so long as you use the model with it—it's based on your art, after all.

Benefits: It's not legally bulletproof, but it's more legally sound than not doing it. Right? ...Right?

Drawbacks: According to some armchair Internet lawyers, now a billion people can sue you.

"Dreamboothing five images is not a legal strategy."

A Studio Ghibli style rendition of Gwyn Theronsson
Gwyn Theronsson, in a 100% new and original Studio Ghibli-inspired style.
Hunter S. Thompson, disappointed in you
Hunter S. Thompson wrote this section, in the style of Chat-GPT3.5. Thanks, Hunter.

Penjacking

Fear and Loathing in AI

The words hit hard, like a kick to the teeth: In the style of. These words open a portal to a twisted universe where writers' styles are raided, pillaged, and fused together into monstrous creations.

Penjacking is a wild beast, a realm where the boundaries between authors blur and the line separating reality and fiction becomes nonexistent. In this world, we hunt for the perfect blend of styles, a mix that will thrill the senses and intoxicate the mind.

Benefits: It can be a means of breaking free from the limitations of conventional styles and creating something truly unique and groundbreaking.

Drawbacks: In the wrong hands, it can be a crutch, a way of hiding behind the styles of others rather than developing a unique voice and perspective.

"Penjacking is like a psychedelic trip through the minds of the literary greats, with each new style hitting you like a bolt of lightning to the brain."

FAQ

"Is this a legal guide?"

This is not a legal guide and I'm not a lawyer.

"Is this page for real?"

Yes, but it's also a satire making fun of both sides. If you're on one of the sides it's probably making fun of you.

"Please, I just need a bottom line. Is copywashing good or bad?"

Copywashing is probably mostly fine if it's done with sincere effort behind it. If the goal is to prevent infringement in the final product, then it's good copywashing. If it's just shameless stealing with a thin layer of deception applied, then it's bad copywashing.

"How'd you generate the images?"

Stable Diffusion. Some of the text with gpt-3.5-turbo.

"Be my lawyer!"

Again, I'm not a lawyer. I'm a web developer in San Francisco, looking for Stable Diffusion and GPT consulting work with creative firms. Check out my site to see some recent personal projects and to contact me.