Quoting excerpts is different from transcribing an entire work, which is unambiguously copyright infringement. (Otherwise you would find the “book” version of any and all TV shows on Amazon.) The subtitles in question are generally translations, which likewise fall under copyright, being a derived work.

Yeah, I was just curious about the opensubtitles site because I used to work in that field (subtitles) and wasn't sure if there were some new pirate sites that were monetizing subs.

n.b. not being argumentative, please don't read it that way, I apologize if it comes off that way:

Not every derived work is a copyright violation, that's why subs and dubs don't get kicked around, you can quote dialogue in an article, etc.[^1]

Answering if it applies to AI is playing out in court currently with ex. NYT v. OpenAI[^2] and Sarah Silverman et al v. OpenAI[^3] and v. Meta.[^4]

[^1] "Copyright doesn't protect against all use of the work or use of derivative works. There are a few exceptions that fall under what's commonly known as the fair use doctrine:" (https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/what-are-derivative-works...)

[^2] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/business/media/new-york-t...

[^3] https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/13/24072131/sarah-silverman-...

[^4] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sar...

Quoting is very different from posting the full contents of something. I can quote a book but I can’t reproduce it in its entirety.

Right, you can't reproduce a book. W/r/t subs and dubs, fair use has applied historically.