A new class action lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. District Court in D.C. accuses Google and parent company Alphabet of anticompetitive behavior in violation of U.S. antitrust law, the Sherman Act, and others, on behalf of news publishers. The case, filed by Arkansas-based publisher Helena World Chronicle, argues that Google “siphons off” news publishers’ content, their readers and ad revenue through anticompetitive means.
December, 2023
Spotify and Deezer slam French government’s plans to introduce a ‘music streaming tax’ in the market
Music streaming services have raised concerns over the French government’s proposed tax on music streaming services. Amongst the companies slamming the new plans is Spotify, which has warned that such a move may lead to the company deprioritizing France in the future. Antoine Monin, the Director General of Spotify France, expressed his dismay, labeling the tax a “monumental strategic error, which goes against the issues of economic, cultural and European technology”.
Source: Spotify and Deezer slam French government’s plans to introduce a ‘music streaming tax’ in the market
Streaming Giants Weigh Costs of Big Licensed TV and Movie Libraries
The perception, fueled by big content removals, is that streamers are ruthlessly paring back the number of movies and series available to users and at the same time raising subscription rates. But the data doesn’t back that up. Among the seven biggest subscription video-on-demand services, only one — Amazon’s Prime Video — has seen its overall catalog shrink between January 2021 and October 2023, according to an analysis by streaming aggregator Reelgood.
Source: Streaming Giants Weigh Costs of Big Licensed TV and Movie Libraries
How Publishers Can Navigate the AI Revolution
It’s been just over a year since ChatGPT was introduced to a public mostly unfamiliar with artificial intelligence. It appeared initially to have no obvious relevance to book publishing. Since then everything has changed—and nothing has changed. Publishers are beginning to dive into the new AI tools, exploring the edges, engaging in tentative chats with ChatGPT. But there’s no evidence of a revolution in the practice of publishing. It’s just too soon
RightsTech AI Summit @DEW; New Partners, New Venue
The RightsTech Project is excited to announce Reed Smith LLP and the UCLA Center for Media, Entertainment and Sports as our new partners for the RightsTech AI Summit @ DEW, presented by Digital Media Wire. The event will be held at the Carnesale Commons conference center on the campus of UCLA on February 5, 2024. Join us for a full day of panels and keynotes focused on generative AI, copyright, licensing, rights investing and more. Early bird registration is now open.
RightsTech AI Summit @ DEW
The RightsTech Project is excited to announce Reed Smith LLP and the UCLA Center for Media, Entertainment and Sports as our new partners for the RightsTech AI Summit @ DEW, presented by Digital Media Wire. The event will be held at the Carnesale Commons conference center on the campus of UCLA on February 5, 2024. Join us for a full day of panels and keynotes focused on generative AI, copyright, licensing, rights investing and more. Early bird registration is now open,
AGENDA
Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:15 AM – 9:30 AM PT
Granting Permission: Toward a Licensing Model for Generative AI
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM PT
Artists, authors, and media companies agree that the use of copyrighted works to train generative AI models requires a license and remuneration to rights owners. But how would such a licensing regime be implemented? If direct licensing is impractical at the scale required, how should any collective licensing system be designed? How would it be managed? Are existing collective licensing systems up to the task? This panel will examine how artists and rights owners in different media sectors thinking about the challenge.
Keynote Conversation
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM PT
More information available soon.
Networking Break
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM PT
Opting Out of AI Training
11:00 AM – 11:45 PM PT
While artists and rights owners await action by lawmakers and the courts on copyright rules for generative AI, do-not-train tags, data “poisoning,” and other new technical measures could offer another avenue for creators to protect their work against unlicensed use to train AI models. This panel will highlight the latest tools being developed, how they’re being implemented and who is adopting them.
Featured Presentations
11:45 AM – 12:15 PM PT
More information available soon.
Lunch
12:15 PM – 1:30 PM PT
Update on AI Regulation & Legislation
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM PT
An overview of the latest AI-related regulatory and legislative initiatives. Where things stand, from the implanting the European Union’s AI Act, to copyright laws, to antitrust enforcement and creating a federal publicity right.
The Price of Rights in the Age of AI
2:15 PM – 3:00 PM PT
From song catalogs, to film and television libraries, to literary estates, copyrights have been a hot asset class. But has the market cooled? How has the rapid growth of generative AI affected valuations, and what does the new macroeconomic environments portend for the future of rights investing?
Networking Break
3:00 PM PT – 3:15 PM PT
Copyrighting Generative AI
3:15 PM – 4:00 PM PT
In the most of the world, works created by artificial intelligence cannot be copyrighted. But works containing AI elements alongside the work of human creators sometimes can be. But where is the line? How much AI is too much? How can creators make sure their works containing AI elements can be protected?
AI & Content ID
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM PT
Identifying and detecting works produced by AI is essential for filtering AI content from streaming royalty pools and preventing fraud. This panel will highlight the latest efforts to develop effective AI detection and identification tools and their integration with real world services and applications.
Closing Remarks
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM PT
Reception
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM PT
Interested in Sponsoring?
Contact Tinzar Sherman for more information.
Speaker Inquiries?
Contact Paul Sweeting
European Parliament Votes Not to Ban Geo-Blocking for Film and TV — For Now
The European Parliament on Wednesday followed the advice of its film and TV industry and did not ban geo-blocking for films and TV content across the European Union. Parliament instead opted to further assess the potential impact of a geo-blocking ban, which the audio-visual industry claims would destroy existing business models and result in billions in losses.
Source: European Parliament Votes Not to Ban Geo-Blocking for Film and TV — For Now
Opinion | Will Books Survive Spotify?
Spotify may have made it easier than ever for us to listen to an enormous trove of music, but it extracted so much money in doing so that it impoverished musicians. Now the company is turning its attention to books with a new offering. It will do the same thing to writers, whose audiobooks Spotify has begun streaming in a new and more damaging way.
Songwriters Earn 2024 Cost of Living Adjustment for Physical and Digital Sales
Songwriter royalties will get a cost of living increase for music sales beginning in 2024 for vinyl, CD, cassette and digital downloads. According to a new document, published Tuesday (Dec. 12), the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) upped the U.S. statutory mechanical royalty rate from the current rate of 12 cents to 12.40 cents if the song has a run time of five minutes or less. (If over five minutes, the rate is 2.39 cents per minute.)
Source: Songwriters Earn 2024 Cost of Living Adjustment for Physical and Digital Sales
Netflix Takes Big Data Transparency Step, Releasing Viewing Numbers for 18,000 Titles
Netflix has taken its biggest step toward data transparency yet with the release of an exhaustive list of viewing time on the platform in the first half of 2023. Original series and movies dominate the top of the chart, but Smith said the split between original and licensed titles was more even: About 55 percent of viewing was for originals and 45 percent was for licensed shows and films.
Source: Netflix Takes Big Data Transparency Step, Releasing Viewing Numbers for 18,000 Titles