The Wikimedia Foundation has filed an amicus brief in The New York Times’ lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, asking the court not to hand down a one-size-fits-all copyright ruling on AI training. In the filing, Wikimedia argues that training can, in some cases, count as transformative fair use, even in a case focused on generative AI.
At the same time, Wikimedia draws a line between training and output. Its position is that AI training may sometimes qualify as transformative fair use, while chatbot responses that reproduce protected or Creative Commons text without attribution, or break other license terms, can still amount to infringement.
Wikimedia also presents the case as larger than a single lawsuit. AI chatbots depend heavily on Wikipedia and can pull traffic away from it, which weakens the volunteer community and the broader free-knowledge project. And if the court adopts an overly simple rule, it could either shut down genuinely transformative uses or give AI companies room to ignore licensing altogether.
The brief also says that human visits have dropped 8% since January 2024, while multimedia scraping bandwidth is up 50%. But the picture isn’t one-directional. Large language models can also help Wikipedia editors catch vandalism, copyright issues, doxxing, and weak articles, so a blanket rule against training could end up hurting public-interest tools too.
If you follow AI copyright fights, this filing deserves attention: according to Wikimedia Foundation figures, Wikimedia Enterprise brought in $8.3 million in 2024-2025, up 148% year over year, from customers that include Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. Even so, that still makes up only about 4% of total income, which means donations remain the foundation’s core support.
You can read the brief in the court record.
Author: Jesús Pina
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"de-DE": "Jesús Pina verfolgt, was künstliche Intelligenz an der Software wirklich verändert, die wir täglich benutzen — und trennt dabei, was schon funktioniert, von dem, was bisher nur eine Ankündigung ist. Ihn interessiert die praktische Wirkung: welches Werkzeug echte Zeit spart, welches auf halbem Weg stehen bleibt und welches man sich vor der Installation zweimal ansehen sollte. Er arbeitet täglich mit KI-Modellen mitten im redaktionellen Prozess von Softonic und kennt deren Grenzen deshalb recht genau.",
"en-US": "Jesús Pina follows what artificial intelligence is actually changing in the software people use every day, telling apart what already works from what is still only an announcement. What interests him is the practical effect: which tool saves real time, which one stops halfway and which one deserves a second look before you install it. He works daily with AI models inside Softonic's own editorial process, so he knows their limits fairly well.",
"es-ES": "Jesús Pina sigue lo que la inteligencia artificial está cambiando de verdad en el software que usamos cada día, separando lo que ya funciona de lo que por ahora solo es un anuncio. Le interesa el efecto práctico: qué herramienta ahorra tiempo real, cuál se queda a medias y cuál conviene mirar dos veces antes de instalarla. Trabaja a diario con modelos de IA dentro del propio proceso editorial de Softonic, así que conoce bastante bien sus límites.",
"fr-FR": "Jesús Pina suit ce que l'intelligence artificielle change réellement dans les logiciels du quotidien, en distinguant ce qui fonctionne déjà de ce qui n'est encore qu'une annonce. Ce qui l'intéresse, c'est l'effet pratique : quel outil fait gagner du temps, lequel s'arrête à mi-chemin et lequel mérite un second examen avant installation. Il travaille au quotidien avec des modèles d'IA au cœur du processus éditorial de Softonic, et connaît donc assez bien leurs limites.",
"it-IT": "Jesús Pina segue ciò che l'intelligenza artificiale sta davvero cambiando nel software di ogni giorno, distinguendo quello che già funziona da quello che per ora è solo un annuncio. Gli interessa l'effetto pratico: quale strumento fa risparmiare tempo, quale si ferma a metà e quale conviene guardare due volte prima di installarlo. Lavora ogni giorno con modelli di IA dentro il processo editoriale di Softonic, e per questo ne conosce bene i limiti.",
"nl-NL": "Jesús Pina volgt wat kunstmatige intelligentie echt verandert aan de software die we dagelijks gebruiken, en scheidt daarbij wat al werkt van wat nog slechts een aankondiging is. Wat hem interesseert is het praktische effect: welke tool echt tijd bespaart, welke halverwege blijft steken en welke je beter twee keer bekijkt voordat je hem installeert. Hij werkt dagelijks met AI-modellen binnen het redactieproces van Softonic en kent daardoor hun grenzen vrij goed.",
"pl-PL": "Jesús Pina śledzi to, co sztuczna inteligencja rzeczywiście zmienia w programach używanych codziennie, oddzielając rozwiązania, które już działają, od tych, które są na razie tylko zapowiedzią. Interesuje go efekt praktyczny: które narzędzie naprawdę oszczędza czas, które zatrzymuje się w połowie drogi, a które warto sprawdzić dwa razy przed instalacją. Codziennie pracuje z modelami AI wewnątrz procesu redakcyjnego Softonica, więc dobrze zna ich ograniczenia.",
"pt-BR": "Jesús Pina acompanha o que a inteligência artificial está realmente mudando nos programas que usamos todos os dias, separando o que já funciona do que ainda é apenas anúncio. O que lhe interessa é o efeito prático: qual ferramenta economiza tempo de verdade, qual para no meio do caminho e qual merece uma segunda olhada antes de instalar. Trabalha diariamente com modelos de IA dentro do próprio processo editorial da Softonic, e por isso conhece bem seus limites."
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