Like so very often it begins on a side note. Said in passing, mumbled, almost casually. But this time it wasn’t just any sentence. It was a sentence that buried a century-old law with a shrug of the shoulders. On the open stage. In the best Trump style.

„China doesn’t do that either.“

And just like that, total copyright disaster. Donald Trump, finally in presidential invasion mode and fully focused on AI world power, presents his “AI Action Plan.” And while he verbally fumbles his way through Silicon Valley, Sinophobia amongst other superlatives, he also dissolves copyright like sugar in ice-tea. Efficiency counts. And the truth of education standing in the way. Just like no individual rights – not to integrity, justice, and certainly not to any kind of property. So kill it.

 

Symphonies without patrons, culture without protection

Copyright was never sexy. But it was there. Like an old librarian keeping order while the data riot orchestra played outside. Now he’s being fired and finding out while listening to the new CEO’s first speech to the staff. Because Trump wants AI to learn – everything. For free. As quickly as possible. And please, without annoying authors or publishers caring about their work.


The British Statute of Anne of 1710 saw precisely this protection as a cornerstone of education and culture. To Trump: Irrelevant. Because education is about as appealing to him as wind turbines, vegan food or women contradicting him. Education is the fertile soil for woke leftist mind-terrorists. Or basically people who think. Columbia? Harvard? Funding cut. Copyright? Obstacles. Artists? Voters from the enemy camp.

 

The algorithm has no conscience

Technically speaking, copyright has always been a toothless tiger in Internet and cyberspace. Crawlers and scrapers suck up everything they find. Texts, images, videos. For ChatGPT, Llama, Gemini & Co., it’s like a morning smoothie: world literature, Wikipedia, shadow libraries, everything goes into the blender. Puree, train, monetise.

What seemed to work in the past was a “Please do not feed” sign on the fence around the content. But then, it never really helped. Hardly surprising that Trump doesn’t even mention copyright anymore. Instead, he compares AI to schoolchildren – cute, if it weren’t so bizarre given the current headlines. Because the schoolchildren in question here go on to produce millions of texts and billions of decisions.

 

A president for platforms

Trump sides with Big Tech. Or rather, the money and the power it represents. This is not a rational decision of his, it’s pure instinct. And the message hits home: Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai – all guests on his virtual Air Force One. And as he’s firing US top copyright official Shira Perlmutter one day after she contradicts Elon Musk, the platforms rejoice. So do the courts: the first rulings are in favour of AI – and against copyright. Who would have guessed.

Legal? Controversial in this world. Morals? Forget it. But of course efficient which is what counts in the new digital capitalism MAGA nation.

 

Fair use or unfair use?

In practice, things are getting switched. Shadow libraries are being criminalised, scanned books legalised. And so the data flows as Trump declares this to be the new normal. Data is fair game for all. Or rather for those who can afford a Tesla-sized AI computer.

And Europe? Just like the trade deal catastrophe: standing by in amazement, wondering what the hell is happening (although they of all people should know). And while Trump officially only governs in the US, his decrees, however, have global impact. AI models ignore borders. And the data used to train them often comes from Europe. Copyrights be damned. International law? World Copyright Treaty? Non existent, globalisation is yesterday’s news. America First is the new and only doctrine of this planet and this century. Or, as the Joker so aptly put it: Batman has no jurisdiction.

What remains is a void. A black hole where the idea of intellectual property used to be. Because if all knowledge becomes free training fodder, who will create anything new? And why? Perhaps the goal is no longer creation, but endless reproduction. AI as a remix machine. The past on repeat. Digital cannibalism.

And soon, “man-made” will become a seal of quality. Like “handmade” at the farmers’ market. Because people will soon again long for authenticity, manual work, not artificial output.

But not now, inside the digital McDonalds that is the new US controlled cyberspace. No individuals, just a mass of devout regurgitating followers, force-fed with mental junk food.
And that is the Trump formula in all its simplistic and stunning beauty:

„You don’t need copyright. You just need China. And a good AI.“

That’s it. Man vs. machine, final round. And no bell saving us this time.