Rights

On Friday, Judge Beryl Howell issued an opinion in Dr. Stephen Thaler’s challenge against the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) over the denial of his application for a work generated entirely using generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The opinion supports the USCO’s refusal to register a work in which the claimant disclosed in the application that the image was the result of an AI system, called The Creativity Machine.

Source: Court Says No Copyright Registration for Works Created by Generative AI

In its latest pivot on the subject, marketplace OpenSea announced Thursday that it will soon stop enforcing creator royalty fees on secondary sales of NFTs—a development that will impact artists and teams who receive passive income when their work trades hands following the initial sale. Artists will now only be able to indicate their preferred creator fee, which buyers can choose to pay effectively as a tip.

Source: OpenSea Will Make Creator Royalties Optional for NFT Trades – Decrypt

While various industry estimates are all over the place with some even reaching another $400 million, by Billboard estimates, the just announced determined rates — finalized eight months after the 2017-2022 term expired — could yield up to another $250 million in underpaid mechanical royalties flowing from digital services to publishers and songwriters.

Source: Songwriters & Publishers Have a $250M Payday Coming After Streaming Royalty Determination

The New York Times updated its Terms of Service on August 3rd to prohibit its content — inclusive of text, photographs, images, audio/video clips, “look and feel,” metadata, or compilations — from being used in the development of “any software program, including, but not limited to, training a machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) system.”

Source: The New York Times says you can’t use its content to train AI models

SoundExchange says that it estimates that SiriusXM has “wrongfully withheld more than $150 million in unpaid royalties over the past several years.” In a complaint filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday (August 16), SoundExchange alleged that SiriusXM “has exploited the creative efforts of recording artists without paying legally mandated compensation.”

Source: SoundExchange sues SiriusXM over alleged $150m in unpaid royalties owed to artists and rightsholders

If the world’s largest (Universal) and third-largest (Warner) recorded music companies are both in talks on the issue, it’s a clear sign that this is where things are headed in the industry. However, there are potentially large issues that will need to be ironed out if these types of deals are to prove successful in the long run.

Source: Will Universal and Warner be able to overcome the problems with licensing ‘Deepfakes’ of their artists?

After more than three years of litigation, it took judge John G. Koeltl just hours to sign off on the parties’ negotiated consent judgment—but not without a final twist. In a short written opinion made public yesterday, Koeltl sided with the Internet Archive in a final dispute, limiting the scope of the permanent injunction to cover only the plaintiffs’ print books that also have electronic editions available.

Source: Judge Approves Final Injunction in Publishers, Internet Archive Copyright Case

A new interactive contract representing about 2,500 performers is being negotiated, members of the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee said. The interactive media agreement covers “off-camera (voiceover) performers, on-camera (motion capture, stunt) performers, stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers, and background performers,” according to SAG-AFTRA.

Source: Video game voice actors say ‘soul of the industry is on trial’ with unregulated AI

More than four months after a federal judge found the Internet Archive liable for copyright infringement, the parties have delivered a negotiated agreement for a judgment to be entered in the case. A final resolution could still be years away, however, as the Internet Archive has vowed to appeal.

Source: Publishers, Internet Archive Submit Proposed Judgment in Copyright Case