Center for Investigative Reporting sues Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement; Business Today, June 29, 2024

 Pranav Dixit, Business Today; Center for Investigative Reporting sues Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement

"The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), the non-profit organisation behind Mother Jones and Reveal, filed a lawsuit against tech giants Microsoft and OpenAI on Thursday, alleging unauthorised use of their copyrighted material to train AI models. This legal action follows similar lawsuits filed by The New York Times and other media organisations...

Interestingly, some media organisations have opted for a different approach, signing licensing deals with OpenAI. These include prominent names like The Associated Press, Axel Springer, the Financial Times, Dotdash Meredith, News Corp, Vox Media, The Atlantic, and Time."

Public roundtable: AI and protections for use of an individual’s name, image, likeness, or reputation; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Monday, August 5, 2024 9 AM EDT - 4:30 PM EDT

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Public roundtable: AI and protections for use of an individual’s name, image, likeness, or reputation

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) invites members of the public to a roundtable discussion about the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and legal protections for individuals’ reputations and name, image, voice, likeness (NIL), and other indicators of identity. 

This is your opportunity to provide input on:

• Whether existing legal protections for individuals’ NIL and reputations are sufficient
• How these legal protections intersect with other intellectual property (IP) laws
• How AI technology impacts existing legal protections for NIL and reputation

The feedback received will assist the USPTO’s work to develop IP policy recommendations regarding the intersection of AI and IP, in accordance with the  Executive Order on AI ssued by President Biden in October 2023.

The roundtable will consist of two sessions: A morning in-person session at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and an afternoon virtual session. Both sessions will be livestreamed."

Following Scarlett Johansson Flap, Intellectual Property Expert Talks AI and the Law; UVAToday, June 24, 2024

Josette Corazza, UVAToday ; Following Scarlett Johansson Flap, Intellectual Property Expert Talks AI and the Law

"UVA School of Law professor Dotan Oliar, an expert in intellectual property who teaches art law and copyright, looked at the OpenAI controversies and how artificial intelligence is raising new legal questions and reviving old debates.

Q. What recourse does an actor have when Open AI claims to use a similar voice, but not the actual voice?

A. The “right of publicity” is the relevant body of intellectual property law available to celebrities who believe their voice (or image or likeness) was misappropriated. This is a state, rather than federal, cause of (legal) action and a right now protected in the majority of states, although the scope of protection is not the same everywhere.

In a similar case from 1988, Ford Motor Co. wanted to use Bette Midler’s voice for a commercial, and just like reportedly happened here, Midler declined. Ford went and hired a “sound-alike” person. In a then-precedential ruling, the 9th Circuit Court decided in Midler’s favor and held that a person’s voice was a protected attribute within their right of publicity."

Internet Archive forced to remove 500,000 books after publishers’ court win; Ars Technica, June 21, 2024

ASHLEY BELANGER, Ars Technica; Internet Archive forced to remove 500,000 books after publishers’ court win

"As a result of book publishers successfully suing the Internet Archive (IA) last year, the free online library that strives to keep growing online access to books recently shrank by about 500,000 titles.

IA reported in a blog post this month that publishers abruptly forcing these takedowns triggered a "devastating loss" for readers who depend on IA to access books that are otherwise impossible or difficult to access.

To restore access, IA is now appealing, hoping to reverse the prior court's decision by convincing the US Court of Appeals in the Second Circuit that IA's controlled digital lending of its physical books should be considered fair use under copyright law."