Establishing Trust as a Developer

As someone who's regularly helping businesses bring in emerging tech, here's what I know about establishing trust with GitHub Copilot:

Can I Trust Copilot with My Company's Code?

Short answer: Yes, but do your due diligence. GitHub built some solid technical safeguards like a filter that blocks code suggestions if they match existing public GitHub code. You (or your admin) can set that filter to "Block," so it actively checks and prevents public snippets from sneaking in.

Is the Code Copilot Suggests Actually Secure?

Here's the reality: nothing (or no one!) writes perfect code 100% of the time. Copilot is good, but you still need the usual rigorous reviews, scanning, and linting. Treat Copilot output like you'd treat any developer's pull request - inspect it, test it, and run your security checks.

What Happens if There's a Copyright Claim?

Both GitHub and Microsoft back Copilot up with legal protection. If someone challenges a suggestion as infringing, your use is covered by indemnification - whether you get Copilot via Microsoft or directly from GitHub. The contracts are different, but the result is the same: you're shielded as a business.

Who Owns Copilot's Suggestions?

You do. GitHub doesn't claim ownership of the code generated. That's crucial for IP peace of mind.

My #1 Tip

Take a minute to check out the GitHub Copilot Trust Center. It's the best place to get the nitty gritty on all policies and protections.

Moving Forward

If you're rolling out Copilot for your org, understanding these safeguards, both technical and contractual, makes that leap to AI-powered dev easier (and a lot less scary).

Got questions about how this plays out in a real enterprise? Happy to share what's worked for us.