Explore contractual protections in GitHub Copilot and disabling matching public code

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"Screenshot of a futuristic, neon-colored depiction of GitHub Copilot represented as a stylized robotic helmet. Copilot is portrayed alongside abstract graphics of orbs and atomic-like structures. The text of GitHub Copilot's contractual protections is in bold white at the bottom."

To help ensure that your organization remains compliant with legal requirements, you should understand how contractual protections and GitHub Copilot features can help safeguard your code and data.

Contractual protections

To help ensure that your organization remains compliant with legal requirements, GitHub Copilot offers:

• IP indemnity: The GitHub Copilot Business and Enterprise plans include IP indemnity, which provides legal protection against intellectual property claims related to the use of Copilot suggestions. With IP indemnity, if any suggestion from GitHub Copilot is challenged as infringing on third-party IP rights, GitHub assumes legal responsibility. For GitHub to assume legal responsibility, the Matching public code setting must be blocked.
• Data Protection Agreement (DPA): GitHub offers a DPA that outlines the measures taken to protect your data and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations. These agreements provide transparency and assurance that your data is handled securely and responsibly.
• GitHub Copilot Trust Center: The GitHub Copilot Trust Center provides detailed information about how GitHub Copilot works, including security, privacy, compliance, and intellectual property safeguards. This resource helps organizations feel confident using GitHub Copilot while adhering to best practices and legal requirements.

Filtering out matching public code

GitHub Copilot can help minimize potential code overlap by identifying and filtering out code suggestions that match publicly available code. This feature is essential for maintaining the originality and security of your codebase. It can reduce the risk of incorporating nonsecure or noncompliant code into your projects.

To block suggestions that match public code:

1. On the upper-right corner of any page on GitHub, select your profile photo, and then select Your enterprises or Your organizations.

2. Next to the enterprise or organization, select Settings.

3. On the left sidebar, select Copilot.

4. Under Suggestions, select Matching public code on the dropdown menu, and then select Block.

5. To confirm your new settings, select Save.

Now let's explore managing content exclusion from an internal lens.