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Mealey's Copyright

  • November 08, 2024

    Judge Dismisses AI Suit, Says Removal Of CMI Alone Not Sufficient For Standing

    NEW YORK — Two media outlets have not established that the removal of copyright management information (CMI) from news stories without corresponding dissemination of the works constitutes an injury or that an artificial intelligence is likely to reproduce the works verbatim, a federal judge in New York said in dismissing the outlets’ lawsuit on Nov. 7 for lack of standing.

  • November 07, 2024

    Parties To Newspaper AI Copyright Case Debate Progress Of Discovery

    NEW YORK — Newspaper plaintiffs in an artificial intelligence copyright suit say technical issues plaguing searches of datasets used to train the AI programs are making the discovery process impossible and asked a New York federal judge to compel OpenAI entities to identify and admit which relevant works were used.  In the joint letter, OpenAI says that while the parties are in “unchartered waters,” there is no need for the unprecedented relief the plaintiffs seek.  The joint letter comes on the heels of a third case being added to the litigation and disputes over discovery into social media and what types of damages and benefits the New York Times Co. has seen from AI.

  • November 07, 2024

    Lack Of Injury Dooms YouTube Scraping AI Suit, Nvidia Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A man can point to no injury from the alleged transcribing of YouTube videos for the use in the training of artificial intelligence, and any viable claims would be preempted by copyright law, dooming his California unfair competition law, so the court should dismiss the claims with prejudice, Nvidia Corp. argues.

  • November 06, 2024

    YouTube Entities Seek Dismissal Of UCL Claims In AI Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — California unfair competition law claims involving the alleged training of artificial intelligence on YouTube videos are preempted by copyright law, but even if they weren’t there is no injury or reliance on which to base them, Google LLC and related companies tell a federal judge in California in seeking dismissal.

  • November 06, 2024

    Judge: DMCA Claim Tossed From Copyright Dispute Over Architectural Designs

    LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan federal judge granted a defendant architectural firm’s motion for partial summary judgment on a count brought against it by a plaintiff firm, holding that the plaintiff company failed to show that the defendant company violated the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) by copying elements of the design of a home after the homeowner switched design firms.

  • November 05, 2024

    2nd Circuit Affirms Finding That Ed Sheeran Didn’t Infringe Marvin Gaye Song

    NEW YORK — A 2014 hit single from English pop star Ed Sheeran did not infringe on the copyright related to a 1973 song from Marvin Gaye, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, affirming a New York federal judge’s finding of noninfringement.

  • November 04, 2024

    Judge Consolidates AI Suits; Parties To Work Out Social Media Dispute

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York consolidated a fourth lawsuit brought by journalists challenging the use of their content to train artificial intelligence and ordered OpenAI entities and the parties suing them to attempt to resolve a discovery issue over production of personal social media messages.  The ruling leaves undecided a motion from OpenAI entities seeking evidence of damages and any positive impact AIs have.

  • November 04, 2024

    Judge Tosses Copyright Suit Brought By Photographer Against TikTok, OKs Amendment

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge dismissed a photographer’s copyright infringement complaint brought against social media giant TikTok Inc., holding that the photographer failed to show that TikTok infringed on some of her photos by failing to take down posts containing them.

  • October 31, 2024

    Judge: Mattel Owed Damages For Chinese Stores’ Fake UNO Cards

    NEW YORK — Holding that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the extraterritoriality of certain portions of the Lanham Act does not apply, a federal judge in New York on Oct. 30 entered more than $400,000 in damages against Chinese companies that toy and game manufacturer Mattel Inc. said infringed on its trademarks and copyrights related to the card game UNO.

  • October 31, 2024

    9th Circuit: No Fees For Defendant Who Settled Adult Film Copyright Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a California federal judge’s decision to deny attorney fees to a John Doe defendant who settled with a prodigiously litigious adult film company that accused Doe of copyright violations, but the panel disagreed as to why Doe was not due fees.

  • October 30, 2024

    OpenAI Opposes Discovery Of Employees’ Personal Social Media Content

    NEW YORK — Authors and writers in artificial intelligence copyright lawsuits filed against OpenAI Inc. asked a federal judge for access to employees’ personal social media accounts, saying the record shows work-related use of the accounts.  But in response, the company says that the request strays far afield from the case’s central issues, that the company has no possession of or control over the requested information and that the plaintiffs are simply employing a scorched earth discovery process.

  • October 30, 2024

    OpenAI Wants Evidence Of New York Times’ AI Damages, AI’s Positive Impact

    NEW YORK — The New York Times Co. must produce evidence of any damages from artificial intelligence, as well as its use of ChatGPT and other third-party AIs, OpenAI entities tell a federal judge in New York in a letter motion seeking to compel production.  Concurrently, the companies wrapped briefing on a motion to consolidate, with the newspaper saying it doesn’t object as long as the move doesn’t delay the case, and the defendants contending that adding a third case would ensure smooth handling of all cases.

  • October 29, 2024

    Judge: Design Company Failed To Establish Jurisdiction In Copyright Fight

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge granted a motion from a company that runs a store on Amazon’s website, dismissing a copyright infringement complaint brought against it by a company that says the defendant outfit is selling dresses that infringe on copyrighted designs, holding that the plaintiff company lacks personal jurisdiction; the judge also dissolved a preliminary injunction previously issued against the defendant company.

  • October 29, 2024

    Parties To Google AI Copyright Suits Stipulate To Consolidation

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Parties in two California federal class actions challenging the use of data in the training of artificial intelligence stipulated to consolidation with previously related cases in the wake of a motion asking for such relief by Google LLC and its parent Alphabet Inc.

  • October 25, 2024

    Judge Dismisses Entirety Of Professors’ Copyright Claim Against University

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York modified a magistrate judge’s recommendation to dismiss in part six former professors’ copyright infringement claim against a university in upstate New York, instead dismissing the complaint in its entirety; the judge held that the professors failed to show that the university’s use of copyrighted materials created by the professors exceeded the scope of a license.

  • October 24, 2024

    OpenAI Wants Evidence Of New York Times’ AI Damages, AI’s Positive Impact

    NEW YORK — The New York Times Co. must produce evidence of any damages from artificial intelligence, as well as its usage of ChatGPT and other third-party AIs, OpenAI entities tell a federal judge in New York in a letter motion seeking to compel production.

  • October 24, 2024

    Judge: Defamation, Other Counterclaims Survive In Copyright Infringement Dispute

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal judge in Tennessee on Oct. 23 denied a plaintiff media company’s motion to dismiss a defendant company’s state law counterclaims of defamation and other counts against the plaintiff company and its executive in a copyright dispute, holding that the plaintiff company failed to show that the state law counterclaims are preempted by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).

  • October 22, 2024

    Code Publisher Appeals Injunction Denial For Copyright Claim To 3rd Circuit

    PHILADELPHIA — A publisher of technical standards for several industries on Oct. 21 appealed to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a Pennsylvania federal judge’s denial of the publisher’s request for a preliminary injunction against a company it claims posted copies of the plaintiff company’s codes online without permission in violation of copyrights.

  • October 22, 2024

    Judge Dismisses News Outlet’s Counterclaims From Copyright Row With Photographer

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida dismissed multiple counterclaims brought by an online news outlet against a plaintiff photojournalist who accused the company of using some of his photos without permission, holding that some of the counterclaims hold no useful purpose.

  • October 21, 2024

    2nd Circuit Won’t Rethink Finding Of No Exception To Copyright Act Discovery Rule

    NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a design company’s bid for en banc rehearing, leaving in place a panel’s August decision vacating a New York federal judge’s finding that a photography studio’s copyright claims against the company were time-barred, rejecting the company’s arguments that the panel’s finding did not square with U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • October 18, 2024

    Magistrate: Video Game Creator Due More Than $35K In Awards In Copyright Case

    NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York recommended that the creator of popular horror video game franchise be awarded more than $35,000 in statutory damages, attorney fees and costs from a defendant Chinese company that the creator said infringed his copyrights by selling unauthorized clothing items featuring characters he designed, due to the company’s failure to appear and defend itself from the complaint.

  • October 18, 2024

    Google Defendants Want Pair Of AI Copyright Suits Consolidated

    SAN FRANCISCO — Two cases challenging the data used to train artificial intelligence share sufficiently similar parties, facts and overlapping classes and should be consolidated, Google LLC and its parent Alphabet Inc. told a federal judge in California.

  • October 17, 2024

    1st Circuit Won’t Reconsider Order Of New Trial In Copyright Case

    BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 rejected a guitar seller’s petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc, leaving in place a First Circuit panel’s July opinion ordering a new trial in a New Hampshire federal court on claims that the company infringed on a guitar manufacturer’s photo of guitar headstocks by uploading the photo to its own website.

  • October 16, 2024

    10th Circuit: Judge Wrongly Tested If Amazon Is ‘Found’ In Utah In Copyright Case

    DENVER — A federal judge in Utah applied the wrong test in a copyright case to determine whether Amazon’s website “may be found” within the state of Utah when determining whether to enter default judgment against two Chinese companies accused of selling counterfeited baby doll products through Amazon, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Oct. 15.

  • October 14, 2024

    Magistrate: Dental Product Maker Can’t Add Copyright Claim To Trademark Suit

    GREENSBORO, N.C. — A plaintiff dental hygiene company cannot amend its trademark infringement complaint to add an allegation that defendant companies that make similar products also infringed on the plaintiff company’s copyright, along with other allegations, a federal magistrate judge in North Carolina held Oct. 11, saying that granting the motion would be prejudicial to the defendant companies.