[jyxent]

If they're using pirated books, haven't they already committed copyright infringement by keeping these copies? The model itself might be transformative, but I think that is a separate issue.

If the companies had bought all of the ebooks, then they might be in the clear.

[andybak]

But even given that, does that transfer on to the AI model itself?

Or is it "you did a bad thing in the process of making another thing but we can only punish the initial act"