The legal framework for generative AI — large language models, or LLMs — is still very much TBD. But things aren’t looking great for the news companies dreaming of billions in new revenue from AI companies that have trained LLMs (in very small part) on their products. While elements of those models’ training will be further litigated, courts have thus far not looked favorably on the idea that what they produce is a copyright infringement.
Rights
IMPALA Demands EU Bill Addressing ‘Material Reciprocity’ Ruling
IMPALA and others are calling for EU legislation to address the end of ‘material reciprocity’ for recorded performance royalties. Because the continent’s music professionals (and those in other parts of the world) aren’t compensated for their recordings’ use on U.S. radio, CMOs have long opted against forwarding the corresponding royalties to the States, a practice summarized as “material reciprocity.”
Source: IMPALA Demands EU Bill Addressing ‘Material Reciprocity’ Ruling
GESAC Supports Action to Address ‘Coercive Buyout Practices’
European CMO GESAC has issued a statement in support of recent legislation in Europe to address ‘coercive buyout practices.’ Recently the Culture and Employment Committees of the European Parliament adopted a report with legislative recommendations on working conditions for artists in the EU. “The growing problem of buy-out contracts that prevents authors and composers’ fair remuneration and threatens their livelihood is rightly flagged as one of the main issues to be addressed at EU level,” GESAC says in support of the report.
Source: GESAC Supports Action to Address ‘Coercive Buyout Practices’
€300m Per Year Rightsholder ‘Private Copying’ Payouts Face Scrutiny
In 1985, France introduced a levy on blank media, such as cassette tapes and CDs, to compensate rightsholders for copies of their works made for private use. The main source of revenue today is smartphones; a levy of roughly 17 euros per sale means an annual payout to rightsholders of almost €300m. Alongside the streaming explosion and a system unchanged for a decade, one that critics describe as “dysfunctional”, the levy now faces renewed scrutiny.
Source: €300m Per Year Rightsholder ‘Private Copying’ Payouts Face Scrutiny * TorrentFreak
Sarah Silverman Hits Stumbling Block in AI Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Meta
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria on Monday offered a full-throated denial of one of the authors’ core theories that Meta’s AI system is itself an infringing derivative work made possible only by information extracted from copyrighted material. “This is nonsensical,” he wrote in the order. “There is no way to understand the LLaMA models themselves as a recasting or adaptation of any of the plaintiffs’ books.”
Source: Sarah Silverman Hits Stumbling Block in AI Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Meta
OpenAI, Microsoft hit with new author copyright lawsuit over AI training
OpenAI and Microsoft were sued on Tuesday over claims that they misused the work of nonfiction authors to train the artificial intelligence models that underlie services like OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT. OpenAI copied tens of thousands of nonfiction books without permission to teach its large language models to respond to human text prompts, said author and Hollywood Reporter editor Julian Sancton, who is leading the proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court.
Source: OpenAI, Microsoft hit with new author copyright lawsuit over AI training
Universal prevails in lawsuit alleging it owed artists $750m in Spotify royalties
Universal Music Group (UMG) has won a court case against a proposed class action lawsuit that argued the recording company underpaid its signed artists some $750 million in royalties. Andrus Titus and William McLean, members of the 1990s rap duo Black Sheep, filed the lawsuit this past January, alleging that UMG breached its contract with them, and with other artists, when it allegedly accepted lower royalty payments from Spotify in exchange for a tranche of Spotify stock in 2008.
Source: Universal prevails in lawsuit alleging it owed artists $750m in Spotify royalties
BMI Sold to New Mountain Capital
BMI’s transition to a for-profit model moved forward Tuesday as a New Mountain Capital-led group acquired a majority investment in the organization. Mike O’Neill, BMI’s president & CEO, will continue to lead the company, along with his leadership team, following the closing, according to the announcement. New Mountain will acquire the company from the shareholders who own currently own it; those shareholders must approve the sale.
Source: BMI Sold to New Mountain Capital
Spotify ‘to phase out its service in Uruguay’ over music copyright law changes
Last month, music streaming giant Spotify threatened to withdraw its service from Uruguay over proposed amendments to music copyright law in the market. That bill (Rendición de Cuentas) has since passed, and a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement on Monday (November 20) that, “Without clarity on the changes to music copyright laws included in the 2023 Rendición de Cuentas law” the streaming platform “will, unfortunately, begin to phase out its service in Uruguay effective January 1, 2024.”
Source: Spotify ‘to phase out its service in Uruguay’ from January 1, 2024 over music copyright law changes
Universal, Concord and ABKCO ask court for injunction to stop Anthropic using their lyrics
Last month, the three publishers sued the multi-billion-dollar-backed AI company for the alleged “systematic and widespread infringement of their copyrighted song lyrics.” In a motion filed late on Thursday (November 16), the companies asked the court for a preliminary injunction to prevent Anthropic’s AI from using their works while the case proceeds.