A Senate committee will examine the proposed Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. at a hearing next week, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos scheduled to testify. The Netflix acquisition has drawn an unusual amount of commentary from lawmakers in the weeks since it was announced, while some have also weighed in on Paramount’s hostile bid for all of Warner Bros Discovery.
Source: Senate Hearing On Netflix-Warner Bros Transaction Set For February; Co-CEO Ted Sarandos To Testify
Netflix is not yet close to completing its $82.7B takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, but the deal already is facing serious opposition in the UK. A group of 18 influential cross-party lawmakers, including three former culture secretaries and an ex-BBC director general, have written to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) demanding an investigation.
On Friday, a class action lawsuit filed against NVIDIA back in 2024 by several authors who claimed the company’s AI models were illegally trained on their works was amended, vastly expanding the scope of the litigation. The amended lawsuit now includes more books, authors, and infringing AI models, as well as claims involving the controversial “shadow library” Anna’s Archive.
The complaint describes Anna’s Archive as formerly known as the “Pirate Library Mirror” and accuses it of “brazen theft of millions of files containing nearly all of the world’s commercial sound recordings.” According to court documents, on January 2, the record labels obtained an emergency temporary restraining order, and on January 20, Judge Jed S. Rakoff issued a preliminary injunction after Anna’s Archive failed to appear at a hearing or file any response to the court.
Major book publishers Hachette Book Group and Cengage Group filed a motion Thursday to intervene in an existing class action lawsuit filed last year against Google, accusing the tech giant of orchestrating “historic copyright infringement” to build its Gemini platform. The complaint alleges Google “chose to steal a massive body of content from Plaintiffs and the Class to train its AI model” rather than obtain proper licenses, engaging in deliberate infringement “at every stage” of development.
Source: Book Publishers Seek Entry Into Google AI Copyright Fight – Decrypt
A leading Google public affairs executive has admitted that the tech giant does not believe it should have to pay to use unpaywalled content for AI training. Roxanne Carter told the Lords Communications and Digital Committee on Tuesday that Google wants to create “wholly new content” and not replicate publishers’ work. “What the AI model is trying to do is analyse huge amounts of data to identify patterns and statistical relationships between words, language concepts. It is not an information retrieval system.”
Source: Google IP boss: We shouldn’t pay for AI training on ‘freely available’ content
News publishers have urged the government to fundamentally reconsider the proposed “hybrid” copyright licensing framework for artificial intelligence (AI) training, recommending that news content be categorically excluded from any mandatory or blanket licensing regime. Publishers argue that journalism warrants a distinct policy treatment given its constitutional role, time-sensitive value, and implications for national security and democratic governance.
Source: Publishers urge govt to exempt news from AI copyright regime, back voluntary licensing
A federal appeals court ruled on Monday (January 12) that songwriters can use US copyright law to reclaim their songs worldwide, not just in the US, a decision that could change how the music industry handles decades-old agreements between songwriters and publishers. The decision centers on “termination rights,” a provision in copyright law that lets songwriters reclaim songs they sold off years earlier.
Mechanical Licensing Collective is seeking an immediate appeal of a court ruling in its legal battle with Spotify over audiobook bundling and royalty payments. The request triggered a sharp procedural battle. In a 33-page opposition filed January 9 Spotify argued that The MLC waited nearly a year too long to request this type of expedited review and fails to meet the legal requirements for an immediate appeal.
Source: MLC vs. Spotify bundle battle intensifies as streamer opposes immediate appeal
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he UK will bring into force a law which will make it illegal to create non-consensual intimate images, following widespread concerns over Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot. Speaking to Labour MPs on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer warned X could lose the “right to self regulate”. “If X cannot control Grok, we will,” he said, adding the government would act quickly in response to the issue.