Thompson Reuters won its case against tech company Ross Intelligence, which copied TR’s Westlaw legal content to create its own AI, Reuters reports. This is the first judgement in an AI copyright infringement case in the US. Specifically, the judge ruled that Ross’s use of Westlaw’s content did not constitute “fair use”–a defense being used by several AI companies in suits about their use of pirated books. “We are pleased that the court granted summary judgment in our favor and concluded that Westlaw’s editorial content, created and maintained by our attorney editors, is protected by copyright and cannot be used […]
AI
AAP Calls for AI Companies to Respect Copyright At Paris Summit
Several members of the International Publishers Association, including the Association of American Publishers, have issued a statement in connection with the Summit for Action on Artificial Intelligence being held in Paris this week. According to the IPA, the summit “intends to promote reliable, sustainable and responsible AI.” The IPA notes, “The summit…has a special responsibility as there will be no trusted AI without respect for intellectual property rights. There will be no ethical AI without the authorization of rightsholders. There will be no sovereign AI without a fair business model.” The statement, which is signed by 38 cultural and arts […]
Meta Documents Suggest Licensing Books Would Preclude Them From Pirating Them
According to newly unsealed filing in the case of several authors against Meta for copyright infringement, plaintiffs note that Meta’s documents show that the tech company knowingly used pirated material to train their AI tool Llama, even after employees raised flags that it was unethical and looked into paying for licenses. According to the filing, in one document, a Meta employee stated that she’d “been helping with buying content” from a redacted textbook publisher. Other internal messages “openly discuss licensing efforts and weigh the tradeoffs of using pirated textbooks and other copyrighted works from LibGen instead, including a statement that […]
Bertelsmann Employees Will Use ChatGPT Enterprise, Help AI Company In “Distributing” Content
Bertelsmann announced a “strategic collaboration” with OpenAI, a major feature of which seems to a corporate-wide license of ChatGPT Enterprise for its employees, who will use the product “to increase the efficiency of existing processes in the daily workflow.” Additionally, “experts and creatives from the group’s content businesses will work with OpenAI to develop new ways of creating and distributing video, audio, and text content.” Among the sample projects cited in the release, “In marketing, AI will facilitate processes, e.g. with personalized book recommendations on social media at Penguin Random House,” and “at RTL Deutschland, journalists will be supported by […]
Pearson to Release AI Skill-Building Tools with Microsoft
Pearson released a brief trading update for the fourth quarter and the full year 2024, and announced an AI partnership with Microsoft. Pearson and Microsoft will release a series of educational tools designed to help people build AI skills “through new AI credentials and certifications.” The companies will also collaborate on a series of AI tools to build workforce skills and learn the English language. Pearson will also expand their use of Microsoft’s AI Copilot tool “across its workforce.” They say in a release, “This is part of an ongoing effort to introduce workplace AI tools that enhance efficiency, creativity, […]
FTC Investigates Company That Teaches People to Self-Publish AI Books
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating a company that sells courses on self-publishing AI-generated books, Business Insider reports. Publishing.com, which has also operated as Publishing Life, Audiobook Income Academy, and AI Publishing Academy, charges users $1,995 for guides on how to make extra money by self-publishing AI books on Amazon. Customers have complained that they have paid much more for materials, that refunds aren’t available, and that the company was dishonest about how much people can make by self-publishing. The FTC has hired an expert witness, which flagged the probe for Business Insider, but has not released any public information […]