All articles tagged with #copyright law
Parents in the US, UK, and Finland are using AI tools to generate or enhance school portraits, bypassing traditional photographers to save money. While this saves families $25 to $60 per child, it raises concerns about data privacy, copyright infringement, and the livelihoods of small photography businesses.
Mattie Music Group, the publisher of Bill Withers’ estate, has filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles alleging that Olivia Dean’s track 'I’ve Seen It' infringes on the copyright of the 1981 hit 'Just the Two of Us.' The suit targets Dean’s label and publishers, not the singer herself, claiming the songs share 'obvious and inescapable' melodic similarities. A hired musicologist found 'substantial similarities' in the works, and the defendants were notified in August but continued distribution.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that training an AI system on a competitor's copyrighted editorial summaries constitutes infringement, not fair use. The court affirmed that Westlaw headnotes are protected works and that ROSS Intelligence’s use of them to build a rival legal research tool was minimally transformative. This marks the first federal appellate decision addressing fair use in AI training, though the full opinion remains under seal.
The U.S. Department of Justice urged a New York court to let OpenAI broadly access copyrighted material for training its AI, arguing that such use is fair, transformative, and essential to maintaining U.S. leadership in AI. The Intercept and other media plaintiffs contend this would amount to an uncompensated transfer of IP rights to tech companies. The case, which involves open DMCA claims against OpenAI and has been consolidated with other media lawsuits (including The New York Times, Tribune, and Ziff Davis), has seen mixed rulings and continues as arguments over fair use and the impact on press freedom unfold.
Americana singer Jason Isbell leads a Massachusetts class-action accusing Suno AI of using musicians’ identities and real names in prompts to generate music, effectively stealing performers’ identity rights for commercial gain; the suit joins other claims against Suno from labels and artists, with Warner Music Group having settled elsewhere and the case seeking to halt ongoing exploitation and recover misappropriated value.
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell sued Anthropic in a Northern California court, alleging Claude was trained by scraping thousands of copyrighted songs and lyrics (including hits like Eye of the Tiger and All I Want for Christmas Is You), leading to AI-generated lyrics that resemble originals. The publishers seek a jury trial and statutory damages of up to $150,000 per composition; Anthropic denies the allegations.
A Florida federal judge, Judge Aileen Cannon, dismissed with prejudice poet Kimberly Marasco’s lawsuit accusing Taylor Swift and associates of copying lines from her poetry into Swift’s songs, ruling that the poems express ideas and metaphors rather than protectable expression and that the complaint failed to plausibly plead copying; the amended filing was also described as a shotgun pleading, effectively ending the case against Swift, Aaron Dessner, Republic Records and Universal Music Group.
Richard Garriott (Lord British) plans to reclaim the Ultima rights from Electronic Arts by invoking Section 203 of the U.S. Copyright Act, which allows authors to regain rights after about 35 years. EA has recently filed new trademarks for the Ultima franchise, hinting at potential activity or defensive positioning. If successful, Garriott would regain copyright to the original work (though not necessarily launch a new Ultima game), since copyright covers code and look/feel while trademarks protect branding.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that ISPs aren’t liable for user piracy simply for providing general connectivity; liability requires intent to facilitate infringement or a service tailored to it, aligning with Betamax and Grokster. The decision preserves DMCA safe harbors, avoids turning networks into piracy enforcers, and affects how ISPs handle infringement notices and repeat-offender policies.
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Cox Communications cannot be held liable for copyright infringement by its subscribers, overturning a $1 billion verdict and clarifying that ISPs are not copyright police unless they directly facilitate infringement.
Bad Bunny is asking a court to order emPawa Africa to pay about $465,612 in attorney’s fees after he prevailed in a copyright dispute over the Un Verano Sin Ti track Enseñame a Bailar; the Nigerian producer Dera’s suit was dismissed for missed deadlines, and emPawa Africa was dropped as a plaintiff. His lawyers argue the case was meritless and that the sample was obtained with permission from Lakizo Entertainment, noting the plaintiff’s strategy to extract a settlement. The motion also suggests the co-plaintiff was not primarily responsible for prosecuting the case.
Spanish skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté will perform a Minions-themed short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics after an initial copyright denial was reversed, marking a rare public shift in figure-skating music rights prompted by viral support; the move follows the 2022 Heavy Young Heathens copyright lawsuit that spurred a centralized licensing path via ClicknClear, though two musical elements remain under review and cross-country licensing remains complex.
Many iconic characters and works, including Blondie, Nancy Drew, and Betty Boop, are entering the public domain in 2026 after a 95-year copyright protection period, raising questions about copyright law, cultural preservation, and creative reuse. The long extension of copyright terms has delayed public access, but this year marks a significant opportunity for rediscovery and reinterpretation of these cultural treasures.
An abridged, ad-supported version of 'It’s a Wonderful Life' circulating on Amazon Prime omits the pivotal Pottersville scene due to copyright licensing issues, which is problematic since the scene is essential to the film's story. The film's complex copyright history, including its entry into public domain and subsequent licensing disputes, explains why the shorter version exists, but the original remains the superior version.
An abridged, ad-supported version of 'It’s a Wonderful Life' circulating on Amazon Prime omits the pivotal 'Pottersville' scene due to copyright issues, stemming from complex rights and copyright law interpretations, which have affected the film's broadcasting history and availability.