Just by using Copilot you’re giving Microsoft free access to anything you do or get from their AI system. It’s a legal trap that everyone needs to keep in mind.
We found this buried in the Copilot Terms and Conditions (T&C’s) starting on the Bing web site https://www.bing.com/new/termsofuse (strange place for it to hide).
Microsoft’s legal conditions are what all Microsoft customers agree to when they use or pay for a Microsoft product. That’s standard corporate practice these days. What’s extreme is the many interconnected pages that can be involved. We counted seven links to more Microsoft legalese that has to be read in conjunction with the main Copilot T&C page.
In other words, we’re a long way from the days when there was a single EULA (End User License Agreement).
Microsoft can use any Copilot content
What caught our eye was this in Section 5 ‘Ownership of Content’.
… by using the Online Services, posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting content you are granting Microsoft, its affiliated companies and third party partners permission to use the Prompts, Creations, customizations (including GPTs) , and related content in connection with the operation of its businesses “
Source: Copilot terms of use
That’s a fair quote in context, here’s all of Section 5.
First Microsoft says they don’t claim ownership of Copilot/Designer content, either the prompts or what their systems product.
But then Microsoft gives itself and partners full access to anything you put into or get from Copilot. Worse they can do it without paying you a cent (“No compensation”).
As always, there’ll probably be statement from Microsoft trying to dissemble or step back from the T&C’s but the hard reality is that only the legal terms count. Anything else said doesn’t matter.
In a way there’s nothing new here. Microsoft has always given itself the right to use content that passes through their hands and they have done exactly that in the past.
Any online company can be compelled to copy someone’s data to a law enforcement or government agency without notice.
What’s the deal with Microsoft’s Copilot Copyright Commitment
Copilot appears in Word whether you like it or not
What the hell is Copilot and how can it help me?
Microsoft reads private email on Hotmail/Outlook.com
