Artists, copyright law, and the battle over artificial intelligence; 1A, October 23, 2023

Lauren Hamilton, 1A ; Artists, copyright law, and the battle over artificial intelligence

"Tech companies have spent billions of dollars this year alone investing in the future of generative artificial intelligence.  

Generative AI apps like ChatGPT, Stable  Diffusion and Bard, deliver brand new text, images and code results – of comparable quality to human outputs – from user prompts. 

But have you ever wondered how an AI bot knows how to process a user’s request? 

It gets trained, using millions of data points – like books, poems, photos, illustrations and song lyrics – from all over the internet, including copyrighted material. 

In recent months, several authors have sued companies like Meta and OpenAI, alleging that the companies used their copyrighted works to train their generative AI models, all without permission or compensation.

It’s an issue of concern for many who work creative jobs; from authors, to musicians, voice actors and graphic designers.

What’s to come of the legal battles between creatives and AI companies? What role does copyright law play in shaping the future of artificial intelligence?"

Music publishers sue Amazon-backed AI company over song lyrics; The Guardian, October 19, 2023

 Blake Montgomery and agencies, The Guardian; Music publishers sue Amazon-backed AI company over song lyrics

"Music publishers Universal Music, ABKCO and Concord Publishing sued the artificial intelligence company Anthropic in Tennessee federal court on Wednesday, accusing it of misusing “innumerable” copyrighted song lyrics to train its chatbot Claude.

The lawsuit said Anthropic violates the publishers’ rights through its use of lyrics from at least 500 songs ranging from the Beach Boys’ God Only Knows and the Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk and Beyoncé’s Halo.

The lawsuit accused Anthropic of infringing the publishers’ copyrights by copying their lyrics without permission as part of the “massive amounts of text” that it scrapes from the internet to train Claude to respond to human prompts."

AI is learning from stolen intellectual property. It needs to stop.; The Washington Post, October 19, 2023

William D. Cohan , The Washington Post; AI is learning from stolen intellectual property. It needs to stop.

"The other day someone sent me the searchable database published by Atlantic magazine of more than 191,000 e-books that have been used to train the generative AI systems being developed by Meta, Bloomberg and others. It turns out that four of my seven books are in the data set, called Books3. Whoa.

Not only did I not give permission for my books to be used to generate AI products, but I also wasn’t even consulted about it. I had no idea this was happening. Neither did my publishers, Penguin Random House (for three of the books) and Macmillan (for the other one). Neither my publishers nor I were compensated for use of my intellectual property. Books3 just scraped the content away for free, with Meta et al. profiting merrily along the way. And Books3 is just one of many pirated collections being used for this purpose...

This is wholly unacceptable behavior. Our books are copyrighted material, not free fodder for wealthy companies to use as they see fit, without permission or compensation. Many, many hours of serious research, creative angst and plain old hard work go into writing and publishing a book, and few writers are compensated like professional athletes, Hollywood actors or Wall Street investment bankers. Stealing our intellectual property hurts."

Authors sue Meta, Microsoft, Bloomberg in latest AI copyright clash; Reuters, October 18, 2023

Blake Brittain, Reuters ; Authors sue Meta, Microsoft, Bloomberg in latest AI copyright clash

"A group of writers including former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and best-selling Christian author Lysa TerKeurst have filed a lawsuit in New York federal court that accuses Meta (META.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Bloomberg of using their work to train artificial intelligence systems without permission.

The proposed class-action copyright lawsuit filed on Tuesday said that the companies used the controversial "Books3" dataset, which the writers said contains thousands of pirated books, to teach their large language models how to respond to human prompts."

A.I. May Not Get a Chance to Kill Us if This Kills It First; Slate, October 17, 2023

 SCOTT NOVER, Slate; A.I. May Not Get a Chance to Kill Us if This Kills It First

"There is a disaster scenario for OpenAI and other companies funneling billions into A.I. models: If a court found that a company was liable for copyright infringement, it could completely halt the development of the offending model."

Federal government considering copyright law changes for AI-generated work; National Post, October 16, 2023

 Anja Karadeglija, National Post; Federal government considering copyright law changes for AI-generated work

"The Liberal government is asking for input on potential changes to copyright law to account for the emergence of generative artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT.

That includes the question of whether copyright protection should apply to AI-generated work, or whether it should be reserved exclusively for work created by humans, it outlined in a new consultation...

The National Post reported earlier this month that the federal government doesn’t know how Canadian copyright law applies to systems like ChatGPT, and is following multiple lawsuits in the United States."

Writers Guild AI Deal Pushes Studios Down New Copyright Path; Bloomberg Law, October 12, 2023

Kyle Jahner, Bloomberg Law; Writers Guild AI Deal Pushes Studios Down New Copyright Path

"Movie and television studios will have to monitor their use of AI in the script-writing process or face copyright complications following the recent deal with the screenwriters’ union.

Provisions restricting—in some scenarios banning—use of AI in content fed to writers are embedded among other aspects of the collective bargaining agreement with Hollywood studios ratified by Writers Guild of America members Monday, less than two weeks after governing boards of the writers’ union ended the nearly five-month strike. The WGA also secured the right to bar the use of writers’ material to train AI models."

Libraries to observe Open Access Week with virtual panel discussion Oct. 24; Penn State, October 11, 2023

 Penn State; Libraries to observe Open Access Week with virtual panel discussion Oct. 24

"Penn State University Libraries will participate in the 16th annual global observance of Open Access Week with a virtual panel discussion at noon on Oct. 24. Panelists will discuss this year's theme, “Community Over Commercialization,” in the context of University Libraries initiatives that support research and teaching. The session is free and will be held virtually on Zoom; registration is required in order to attend.

The theme “encourages a candid conversation about which approaches to open scholarship prioritize the best interests of the public and the academic community — and which do not,” according to the website description.

The panelists are Libraries employees who work on open initiatives including open access, open publishing, open data, open metadata, open educational resources and open source software:

• Jeff Edmunds, digital access coordinator, Cataloging and Metadata Services
• Ana Enriquez, interim head, Scholarly Communications and Copyright
• Andrew Gearhart, applications developer, Libraries Strategic Technologies
• Ally Laird, open publishing program coordinator, Research Informatics and Publishing
• Elizabeth Nelson, reference and instruction librarian, Lehigh Valley Campus Library, Penn State Lehigh Valley
• Briana Wham, Data Learning Center manager/research data management librarian — STEM, Research Informatics and Publishing"

Thaler Appeals D.C. Court Decision Denying Copyright for AI-Generated Art; The Fashion Law, October 12, 2023

The Fashion Law; Thaler Appeals D.C. Court Decision Denying Copyright for AI-Generated Art

"A case over the availability of copyright protection for artificial intelligence-generated artwork is headed before a U.S. appeals court. In a notice lodged on Wednesday, Stephen Thaler alerted the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that he is appealing its August 18 decision, in which it held that an artwork created by AI is not eligible for copyright registration, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. As first reported by TFL, Thaler – who sought to register the AI-generated artwork, “A Recent Entrance to Paradise” with the Copyright Office – is appealing the D.C. court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Shira Perlmutter and the Copyright Office and its denial of his own summary judgment motion this summer...

The case is Stephen Thaler v. Shira Perlmutter, et al., 1:22-cv-01564 (DDC)."

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."

How to Submit a Removal Request on YouTube Due to Copyright; MakeUseOf, October 9, 2023

SAM WOLFE, MakeUseOf; How to Submit a Removal Request on YouTube Due to Copyright

"Ultimately, YouTube wants to protect creators who put in time and hard work to produce original content. If you find that someone is stealing your content or YouTube has found matches of your videos, don’t hesitate to turn in a removal request."

This AI chatbot was ‘trained’ using my books, but don’t blame me for its incredible stupidity; Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2023

MICHAEL HILTZIK, Los Angeles Times; This AI chatbot was ‘trained’ using my books, but don’t blame me for its incredible stupidity

"Alex Reisner of the Atlantic compiled a handy search tool for the database, which is known as Books3, giving authors the world over an opportunity to hunt for their names and decide how to think about the results."

Unpublished Letter Sent to New York Times Editor on 10/2/23 re “The Enemies of Literature Are Winning” by Matthew Walther (Oct. 1, 2023)

[Kip Currier: Unpublished Letter I sent to New York Times Editor on 10/2/23 re “The Enemies of Literature Are Winning” by Matthew Walther (Oct. 1, 2023).]

Nowhere in the author’s jeremiad does he address the two most important reasons for the continuing existence and relevance of Banned Books Week: providing readers with access to the broadest spectrum of information and including the voices of all, particularly BIPOC and LGBTQ+ persons who have historically been absent from library collections. In the words of the late Banned Books Week co-founder and longtime intellectual freedom champion Judith Krug, “We have to serve the information needs of everybody.” Not some, but everyone.

Flo Rida, Old Lawsuits & ‘Raging Bull’: Supreme Court’s Big Music Copyright Case Explained; Billboard, October 3, 2023

BILL DONAHUE, Billboard; Flo Rida, Old Lawsuits & ‘Raging Bull’: Supreme Court’s Big Music Copyright Case Explained

"The phrases “retroactive relief” and “three-year lookback period” might make your eyes glaze over, but the Warner v. Nealy case has big implications for copyright-heavy industries like music....

“Without a clear national rule setting the temporal limits of recoverable damages, amici and their members face serious uncertainty.”"

USPTO; Director's Blog: the latest from USPTO leadership; Latest updates on artificial intelligence and intellectual property, September 29, 2023

Blog by Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO; Director's Blog: the latest from USPTO leadership

Latest updates on artificial intelligence and intellectual property

"Our AI/ET Partnership Meeting on September 27 this week explored the many ways that AI is shaping the work of both the USPTO and those who practice before us, along with the role of USPTO data in advancing state-of-the-art AI research and AI throughout the innovation economy. Attendees heard from a distinguished and diverse lineup of AI researchers, IP practitioners, USPTO technologists, and interagency partners. And our economists demonstrated some of our AI data and research initiatives.

Given the rapid adoption of AI, we are moving swiftly and carefully – including on patent examiner training. In our report, “Inventing AI: Tracing the diffusion of artificial intelligence with U.S. patents,” we found that AI is increasingly important for invention, diffusing broadly across technologies, inventors, organizations, and geography. For example, recently updated data from our report indicates that around 80,000 of our utility patent applications in 2020 involved artificial intelligence – over 150% higher than in 2002. AI now appears in more than 18% of all utility patent applications we receive. Illustrating AI’s rapid diffusion across fields, patents containing AI appeared in about 9% of all technologies examined by the USPTO in 1976, and spread to more than 50% by 2020. And, this data precedes what we have all seen in the past six months." 

EU legal advisor: disclosing identities of suspected copyright pirates "compatible" with EU privacy laws; Boing Boing, September 29, 2023

ROB BESCHIZZA, Boing Boing; EU legal advisor: disclosing identities of suspected copyright pirates "compatible" with EU privacy laws

"Releasing pirates' identities is "Compatible With EU Privacy Laws," says a top legal advisor to the European Union's highest court following the discovery that the French government retains more than a decade of data collected about millions of people suspected of infringing copyrights."

Supreme Court to Clarify Copyright Infringement Limits in Case Against Warner Music; The Hollywood Reporter, September 29, 2023

Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter; Supreme Court to Clarify Copyright Infringement Limits in Case Against Warner Music

"The Supreme Court will clear up how far back copyright holders can recover damages for infringement in a case involving a Florida producer who sued Warner Chappell Music after Flo Rida sampled a song he owns.

The justices agreed on Friday to review an appeal from Warner Music and Artist Publishing Group of a lower court’s ruling that recovery for damages that occurred prior to the three-year window to sue is allowed. The decision may clarify uncertainty over whether there is truly open-ended copyright liability, as two federal appeals courts have recently held."

Getty Images promises its new AI contains no copyrighted art; MIT Technology Review, September 25, 2023

 

• Melissa Heikkiläarchive page

, MIT Technology Review; Getty Images promises its new AI contains no copyrighted art

"Getty Images is so confident its new generative AI model is free of copyrighted content that it will cover any potential intellectual-property disputes for its customers. 

The generative AI system, announced today, was built by Nvidia and is trained solely on images in Getty’s image library. It does not include logos or images that have been scraped off the internet without consent. 

“Fundamentally, it’s trained; it’s clean. It’s viable for businesses to use. We’ll stand behind that claim,” says Craig Peters, the CEO of Getty Images. Peters says companies that want to use generative AI want total legal certainty they won’t face expensive copyright lawsuits.""

An old master? No, it’s an image AI just knocked up … and it can’t be copyrighted; The Guardian, September 24, 2023

Edward Helmore , The Guardian ; An old master? No, it’s an image AI just knocked up … and it can’t be copyrighted

"Courts are now routinely referring to human authorship requirements under copyright law, including rejecting Kristina Kashtanova’s copyright claim for Zarya of the Dawn, a book “‘authored’ by non-human spiritual beings”. That ruling noted “it is not creations of divine beings” copyright is designed to protect.

Case law on the issue also now includes the rejection of a copyright lawsuit brought on behalf of a selfie-taking monkey. But in the Thaler case, Judge Beryl Howell did acknowledge that humanity is “approaching new frontiers in copyright” where artists will use AI as a tool to create new work."

‘Trump Too Small’ Fight Splits First Amendment Trademark Views; Bloomberg Law, September 22, 2023

Kyle Jahner, Bloomberg Law; ‘Trump Too Small’ Fight Splits First Amendment Trademark Views

"A dispute over a “Trump Too Small” trademark application hinges on whether a statutory ban offends the First Amendment, as the US Supreme Court recently found two other restrictions did."

Generative AI vs. Copyright; Publishers Weekly, September 22, 2023

Lloyd J. Jassin, Publishers Weekly; Generative AI vs. Copyright

"To sum up, on a case-by-case basis, courts must determine if substantial similarity exists and then engage in line drawing—balancing free expression and the rights of creators."

U.S. Copyright Office Extends Deadline for Comments on Artificial Intelligence Notice of Inquiry; U.S. Copyright Office, September 21, 2023

 U.S. Copyright Office, Issue No. 1021; U.S. Copyright Office Extends Deadline for Comments on Artificial Intelligence Notice of Inquiry

"The U.S. Copyright Office extended the deadline to submit comments in response to its August 30, 2023, notice of inquiry regarding artificial intelligence and copyright. The new deadlines will ensure that members of the public have sufficient time to prepare fulsome responses to the Office's questions so the Office can proceed with its inquiry with the benefit of a complete record of public input and feedback.

Initial written comments are now due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Monday, October 30, 2023. Reply comments are now due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.

The Federal Register notice announcing this extension and additional information, including instructions for submitting comments, are available at https://www.copyright.gov/policy/artificial-intelligence/."

Generative AI and US copyright law are on a collision course; Computer World, September 22, 2023

Jon Gold , Computer World; Generative AI and US copyright law are on a collision course

"The unsettled state of play around AI and copyright law is not simply a US phenomenon, although most countries have yet to pass detailed legislation around it. The EU’s AI Act, as well as frameworks for more general AI regulation passed by the US and China, do not change the confused state of play around copyright issues. One country that has done so is Japan, which clarified in June that the use of copyright works for AI training is permitted, even for commercial purposes.

But active regulation of these issues may still be far off in the US, according to the experts."

Opinion: The Copyright Office is making a mistake on AI-generated art; Ars Technica, September 22, 2023

TIMOTHY B. LEE, Ars Technica; Opinion: The Copyright Office is making a mistake on AI-generated art

"I don’t think these more recent decisions are going to age well.

“The copyright office's position follows fairly logically from what they've staked out,” Cornell University copyright scholar James Grimmelmann told me. “And that follows fairly logically from existing copyright doctrine or theory.”

At the same time, Grimmelmann said, “I don't see this approach being scalable. It seems like a quagmire.”"

Publishers settle copyright infringement lawsuit with ResearchGate; Chemistry World, September 18, 2023

REBECCA TRAGER, Chemistry World ; Publishers settle copyright infringement lawsuit with ResearchGate

"Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, a librarian and professor of information science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, says the settlement agreement ‘signals that ResearchGate has completed its journey from disrupter to partner within the scholarly communications ecosystem’. She notes that Elsevier and ACS have been using ResearchGate’s content blocking technology since at least early 2022, which indicates that ‘a more collaborative relationship’ has been in development for some time."

Franzen, Grisham and Other Prominent Authors Sue OpenAI; The New York Times, September 20, 2023

 Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris, The New York Times; Franzen, Grisham and Other Prominent Authors Sue OpenAI

"A group of prominent novelists, including John Grisham, Jonathan Franzen and Elin Hilderbrand, are joining the legal battle against OpenAI over its chatbot technology, as fears about the encroachment of artificial intelligence on creative industries continue to grow.

More than a dozen authors filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Tuesday, accusing the company, which has been backed with billions of dollars in investment from Microsoft, of infringing on their copyrights by using their books to train its popular ChatGPT chatbot. The complaint, which was filed along with the Authors Guild, said that OpenAI’s chatbots can now produce “derivative works” that can mimic and summarize the authors’ books, potentially harming the market for authors’ work, and that the writers were neither compensated nor notified by the company."

Digimarc adds copyright information to digital data; The Verge,September 19, 2023

 Emilia David, The Verge; Digimarc adds copyright information to digital data

"Software company Digimarc will now let copyright owners add more information to their work, which the company said will improve how AI models treat copyright in training data. 

In a statement, Digimarc said its new Digimarc Validate service lets users include ownership identification in the metadata. The company said this means that when copyrighted material becomes part of a generative AI training dataset, users can point to the digital watermark with intellectual property information.

For example, an image with Digimarc Validate adds a © symbol that is machine-readable and includes information on who owns the copyright. The company said Digimarc Validate is powered by its digital watermark detection software, called SAFE, or secure, accurate, fair, and efficient, which AI companies have to buy into if they want to prevent copyrighted material with the Digimarc Validate symbol from making it to training datasets."

DC Releases a Statement on Fables - It is 'Not in the Public Domain'; CBR, September 15, 2023

 BRIAN CRONIN, CBR; DC Releases a Statement on Fables - It is 'Not in the Public Domain'

"Suffice it to say, though, that anyone thinking of taking Willingham up on his "released" copyright will face a legal challenge from DC."

Pitt is a top 20 leader in patents in the U.S.; Pittwire, University of Pittsburgh, September 15, 2023

Pittwire, University of Pittsburgh; Pitt is a top 20 leader in patents in the U.S.

"From quantum computers to better wheelchair technology, innovators at the University of Pittsburgh are always pushing boundaries. Now, a new ranking confirms what Pitt people have long known: we’re among the top 20 most innovative universities nationwide.

According to a new list from the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), Pitt ranks No. 16 for U.S. universities granted utility patents in 2022.

Pitt innovators earned 105 of these patents in 2022, just behind the University of Pennsylvania at 108 and far surpassing other Pennsylvania universities on the list, including Carnegie Mellon University at No. 37, Penn State University at No. 51, Drexel University at No. 57 and Temple University at No. 75.

Drawing from data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the list focuses specifically on utility patents, which offer protection to inventors for new processes, machines or other innovations."

Bizarre AI-generated products are in stores. Here’s how to avoid them.; The Washington Post, September 18, 2023

 Heather Kelly, The Washington Post; Bizarre AI-generated products are in stores. Here’s how to avoid them.

"Copyright and intellectual property issues around AI are still in the air...

The Authors Guild, which represents many authors whose work has been used to train AI tools, is asking for legislation and pushing companies to disclose when a book is written by AI...

“We see it as consumer protection, but it’s also a way to insulate the book marketplace because otherwise, you’ll just see an influx of AI-generated content on a platform like Kindle,” said Mary Rasenberger, chief executive of the Authors Guild. “It will take away from the market [demand] for human creative works.”

Rasenberger said that she doesn’t think AI can be held off forever and even sees a place for it as a useful tool for writers. The guild’s goal is to make sure AI is regulated, licensed and legitimate, with money going back to authors, she said."

Four large US publishers sue ‘shadow library’ for alleged copyright infringement; The Guardian, September 15, 2023

Ella Creamer, The Guardian ; Four large US publishers sue ‘shadow library’ for alleged copyright infringement

"Four leading US publishers have sued an online “shadow library” that allows visitors to download textbooks and other copyrighted materials free.

Cengage, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill and Pearson Education filed the suit against Library Genesis, also known as LibGen, in Manhattan federal court, citing “extensive violations” of copyright law.

LibGen operates a collection of different domains that allow users to search for and download pdf versions of books. The suit, filed on Thursday, said LibGen holds more than 20,000 files published by the four suing companies."

Thousands of Canadians could be on the hook for allegedly sharing Ryan Reynolds movie; CBC, September 14, 2023

Jacob Barker, CBC; Thousands of Canadians could be on the hook for allegedly sharing Ryan Reynolds movie

""The fear and uncertainty of being sued in Federal Court is what's being monetized here." "

Bob Woodward seeks to end Donald Trump's lawsuit over audiobook; Reuters, September 12, 2023

Jonathan Stempel, Reuters; Bob Woodward seeks to end Donald Trump's lawsuit over audiobook

"The American journalist Bob Woodward is seeking to end former President Donald Trump's nearly $50 million lawsuit for publishing tapes from interviews for Woodward's 2020 best-seller "Rage" as an audiobook.

Woodward, his publisher Simon & Schuster and the publisher's parent Paramount Global (PARA.O) filed a motion to dismiss Trump's lawsuit on Monday in Manhattan federal court, where the case had been transferred last month from Pensacola, Florida."

Internet Archive Files Appeal in Copyright Infringement Case; Publishers Weekly, September 11, 2023

 Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly ; Internet Archive Files Appeal in Copyright Infringement Case

"As expected, the Internet Archive this week submitted its appeal in Hachette v. Internet Archive, the closely-watched copyright case involving the scanning and digital lending of library books.

In a brief notice filed with the court, IA lawyers are seeking review by the Second Circuit court of appeals in New York of the "August 11, 2023 Judgment and Permanent Injunction; the March 24, 2023 Opinion and Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment and Denying Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment; and from any and all orders, rulings, findings, and/or conclusions adverse to Defendant Internet Archive."

The notice of appeal comes right at the 30-day deadline—a month to the day after judge John G. Koeltl approved and entered a negotiated consent judgment in the case which declared the IA's scanning and lending program to be copyright infringement, as well as a permanent injunctionthat, among its provisions, bars the IA from lending unauthorized scans of the plaintiffs' in-copyright, commercially available books that are available in digital editions."

Another group of writers is suing OpenAI over copyright claims; The Verge, September 11, 2023

Emma Roth , The Verge; Another group of writers is suing OpenAI over copyright claims

"A group of writers is suing OpenAI over claims the company illegally used their works to train its AI ChatGPT chatbot, as reported earlier by Reuters. In a lawsuit filed on Friday, Michael Chabon, David Henry Hwang, Rachel Louise Snyder, and Ayelet Waldman allege OpenAI benefits and profits from the “unauthorized and illegal use” of their copyrighted content.

The lawsuit is seeking class-action status and calls out ChatGPT’s ability to summarize and analyze the content written by the authors, stating this “is only possible” if OpenAI trained its GPT large language model on their works. It adds that these outputs are actually “derivative” works that infringe on their copyrights."

Microsoft to defend customers on AI copyright challenges; Reuters, September 7, 2023

Reuters ; Microsoft to defend customers on AI copyright challenges

"Microsoft (MSFT.O) will pay legal damages on behalf of customers using its artificial intelligence (AI) products if they are sued for copyright infringement for the output generated by such systems, the company said on Thursday.

Microsoft will assume responsibility for the potential legal risks arising out of any claims raised by third parties so long as the company's customers use "the guardrails and content filters" built into its products, the company said. It offers functionality meant to reduce the likelihood that the AI returns infringing content."

Artist Who Duped Art Contest With AI Image Has Copyright Application Rejected; PetaPixel, September 7, 2023

MATT GROWCOOT , PetaPixel; Artist Who Duped Art Contest With AI Image Has Copyright Application Rejected

"An artist who rose to notoriety for winning first place in a fine art competition with an AI-generated imagehas had his application for protection rejected by the U.S. Copyright Office.

Jason Allen made headlines around the world last year when the Colorado State Fair awarded his AI-generated artwork, Theatre D’opera Spatial, first place in the digital art/digitally manipulated photography category of the Fine Art competition. Allen was unrepentant for his actions, saying “I’m not stopping now.” 

True to his word, he now wants Theatre D’opera Spatial to be afforded copyright protection, but, true to its word, the Copyright Office has rejected the application because the picture is not a product of human authorship."

Sony copyright claims for Bewitched spell trouble for group that preserves old TV [Updated]; Are Technica, September 5, 2023

 JON BRODKIN , Ars Technica; Sony copyright claims for Bewitched spell trouble for group that preserves old TV [Updated]

"[Update at 6:56 pm ET: It looks like Rick Klein will be able to keep the YouTube channel running. Sony's copyright office emailed Klein after this article was published, saying it would "inform MarkScan to request retractions for the notices issued in response to the 27 full-length episode postings of Bewitched" in exchange for "assurances from you that you or the Fuzzy Memories TV Channel will not post or re-post any infringing versions from Bewitched or other content owned or distributed by SPE [Sony Pictures Entertainment] companies."

Sony said it's taking that step because "this is the first time we have become aware of your YouTube Channel posting unauthorized versions of SPE-distributed content, and the unique circumstances therein." However, Sony told Klein that his channel must remove "similarly infringing posts for other SPE-distributed shows," pointing out that he had posted episodes from other Sony shows.]

Original story: A nonprofit that preserves classic television videos may have its YouTube channel shut down tomorrow over copyright claims for Bewitched episodes that originally aired in the 1960s.

The Museum of Classic Chicago Television has about 5,000 videos, including many decades-old commercials and news shows, posted on its YouTube channel and its own Fuzzy Memories website. President and chief curator Rick Klein's "quest to save vintage Chicago TV shows and commercials" was featured in a WBEZ storytwo years ago.

But after 16 years of Klein and his group, who rely on donors and volunteers, archiving old videos, the TV museum's YouTube channel on August 30 received six copyright strikes for posting 27 Bewitched episodes owned by Sony Pictures Television. Copyright complaints were sent by MarkScan, a "digital asset protection" firm that content owners hire to enforce copyrights. MarkScan has been sending copyright complaints on Sony's behalf since at least 2014.

Klein told Ars today that he's not opposed to the Bewitched videos' deletion and that he has no intention of reposting them. But over the past few days he has been trying to reach anyone at MarkScan or Sony who can reverse the copyright strikes so he can continue the Museum of Classic Chicago Television's YouTube channel."

Jason Allen’s AI art won the Colorado fair — but now the feds say it can’t get a copyright; Copyright Public Radio (CPR), September 6, 2023

 Andrew Kenney, Copyright Public Radio (CPR); Jason Allen’s AI art won the Colorado fair — but now the feds say it can’t get a copyright

"The image was striking enough to win part of the Colorado State Fair’s art contest last year. But the U.S. Copyright Office on Tuesday issued a final decision that it can not be copyrighted, meaning Allen can’t get legal protections to stop others from reproducing and using the image themselves."

Learn about government resources for protecting your intellectual property; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), September 1, 2023

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Learn about government resources for protecting your intellectual property

"Join us at our next Patent Pro Bono Program: Pathways to inclusive innovation event on October 11 from 12:30-5:30 p.m. ET, virtually or in person at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. 

During this event, leaders in the intellectual property (IP) and small business community will share their stories and tips on how to protect your IP via patents and trademarks. We welcome all current and aspiring entrepreneurs interested in learning more about:

• Succeeding in business
• Identifying and protecting IP
• Securing options for funding
• Expanding business networks

A detailed agenda with speakers is listed on our event page.

Registration is required for in-person and online attendees. Seats for in-person attendance are limited, so register now to secure your spot. 

For questions about this event, please contact probono@uspto.gov"

Law’s Elizabeth Rosenblatt explains copyright ownership in relation to Trump’s mugshot; Case Western Reserve University, The Daily, September 1, 2023

Case Western Reserve University, The Daily ; Law’s Elizabeth Rosenblatt explains copyright ownership in relation to Trump’s mugshot

"Can you legally use Trump’s mugshot on merchandise?

Spectrum News: Elizabeth Rosenblatt, the Oliver C. Schroeder Jr. Distinguished Research Scholar and associate director of the Spangenberg Center for Law, Technology and the Arts at the School of Law, said that copyright ownership of mugshots applies in most jurisdictions. Questions arose following the recent release of former President Donald Trump’s mugshot for his arrest for meddling in the 2020 election. “Whether the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department would decide to enforce its copyright is entirely up to them,” Rosenblatt said."