Google promises to take the legal heat in users’ AI copyright lawsuits; The Verge, October 12, 2023

Emilia David , The Verge; Google promises to take the legal heat in users’ AI copyright lawsuits

"Google will protect customers who use some of its generative AI products if they get sued for copyright infringement, the company says.

In a blog post, Google said customers using products that are now embedded with generative AI features will be protected, attempting to assuage growing fears that generative AI could run afoul of copyright rules. It specifically mentioned seven products it would legally cover: Duet AI in Workspace (including text generated in Google Docs and Gmail and images in Google Slides and Google Meet), Duet AI in Google Cloud, Vertex AI Search, Vertex AI Conversation, Vertex AI Text Embedding API, Visual Captioning on Vertex AI, and Codey APIs. Google’s Bard search tool was not mentioned.

If you are challenged on copyright grounds, we will assume responsibility for the potential legal risks involved,” the company said."

Fair use protection against copyright infringement claims just got smaller; Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 24, 2023

John Farmer , Richmond Times-Dispatch; Fair use protection against copyright infringement claims just got smaller

"Now, the borrowing artist must focus on whether the original work and the borrower’s rendition might be used for the same purpose. If the purposes are the same, such as artwork for a company’s blog post, and if the company is for-profit, there is a high risk that the borrowing isn’t fair use."

Any Way You Slice It, D.C. Circuit Holds That &Pizza Can’t Get Piece of @Pizza; Lexology, July 23, 2020

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP - Jessica L. Hannah and Margaret A. Esquenet, Lexology; Any Way You Slice It, D.C. Circuit Holds That &Pizza Can’t Get Piece of @Pizza

"IMAPizza LLC operates the &pizza chain in the United States. IMAPizza alleged that At Pizza Ltd., an Edinburgh, Scotland company, operating under the name @Pizza, created an unauthorized copycat version of IMAPizza’s &pizza restaurant. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of IMAPizza’s copyright and trademark infringement claims against At Pizza. The D.C. Circuit agreed with the district court’s conclusions that IMAPizza failed to allege any domestic copyright infringement or that At Pizza’s actions created any effect on U.S. commerce that could justify extraterritorial application of the Lanham Act."

Google's One Million Books; Forbes, 8/28/09

Steve Pociask via Forbes; Google's One Million Books:

There is still major concern over Google's settlement with author and publisher groups.

"Imagine that your home and the homes of millions of your neighbors are burglarized. Now, say you catch the perpetrator and the case goes to trial. What would you expect--the return of all of your valuable possessions, stringent penalties for damages and jail time for the perpetrator? But instead, the judge agrees to a settlement that lets the perpetrator avoid any penalties, jail time or probation; he lets the perpetrator use the stolen contents for as long as he wants, provided he pays each victim a one-time fee per item; and, for those victims not knowing that their contents were stolen, the perpetrator can keep and use it, without any compensation or penalty at all. Would such a settlement seem fair?

While just an illustration, there are similarities to what is happening now in a court case involving online scanning and use of millions of books, which is in direct violation of copyright protections given to authors and, in this case, the Department of Justice has taken notice, as have a number of state attorneys general and the European Union's competition commission.

In the coming days, authors must decide whether to opt out of the settlement, and in the coming weeks Judge Denny Chin is likely to decide on a settlement involving copyright infringement claims against Google."

http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/27/google-book-copyright-opinions-contributors-steve-pociask.html