Rights

Entertainment Sector Unites to Oppose European Law That Would Ban Geo-Blocking

More than 600 film and TV companies from across Europe, as well as representatives of Hollywood studios, sports leagues, film festivals and film and TV markets, have signed a letter in opposition to proposed legislation that would ban geo-blocking across the European Union. Next Wednesday, Dec. 13, the European Parliament will vote on whether to adopt a proposal that would see audio-visual content, from Hollywood films to French TV series to English soccer games.

Source: Entertainment Sector Unites to Oppose European Law That Would Ban Geo-Blocking

Mechanical Licensing Collective Debuts Royalty ‘Matching Network’

The Mechanical Licensing Collective has debuted a ‘Supplemental Matching Network’ through which five companies will help match royalties. The MLC says it chose these businesses – London-based Blokur, credits database Jaxsta (now part of the overarching Vinyl Group), Too Lost-partnered Pex, Session parent Salt, and SoundExchange’s SX Works – based upon the results of a “comprehensive selection process” that encompassed pilot programs.

Source: Mechanical Licensing Collective Debuts Royalty ‘Matching Network’

EU ‘final’ talks to fix AI rules to run into 2nd day; deal on foundation models at hand

The text of the proposal requires foundational model makers to put in place a policy to respect EU copyright law, including with regard to limitations copyright holders have placed on text and data mining. Plus they must provide a “sufficiently detailed” summary of training data used to build the model and make it public — with a template for the disclosure being provided by the AI Office, an AI governance body the regulation proposes to set up.

Source: EU ‘final’ talks to fix AI rules to run into second day — but deal on foundational models is on the table | TechCrunch

UK Patent Office AI ruling: ‘A whole new era’ 

A recent ruling in the English High Court could be significant for AI companies – music-tech startups included. The ruling last month overturned a previous decision by the UK Patent Office. The change means that startups can now patent their training mechanisms, as well as their final trained systems. “AI music startups couldn’t patent their innovations before because they were being misinterpreted through a legacy vocabulary and understanding,” Dacci CEO Rachel Lyske said.

Source: Daaci hails AI patents ruling: ‘Welcome to a whole new era’ – Music Ally

HarbourView ups credit facility capacity by $100m to buy more music rights

Under the amended facility, HarbourView’s credit facility capacity has been increased by $100 millionto $300 million(from $200m). The firm says that it will use the additional funding to continue acquiring music royalty assets and for “general corporate purposes”. HarbourView has been particularly active in the music rights-buying space over the past few months.

Source: HarbourView ups credit facility capacity by $100m to buy more music rights

AI-Generated Jimmy Stewart Narrates Bedtime Story for Calm App 

An AI-generated voice of Jimmy Stewart, the legendary Hollywood actor who died in 1997, reads a new bedtime story on the Calm sleep and meditation app. The voice of Stewart, who starred in films including “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Vertigo” and “Rear Window,” was recreated for the Calm story using AI voice-cloning technology. The project has the consent of Stewart’s family and his estate (managed by CMG Worldwide).

Source: AI-Generated Jimmy Stewart Narrates Bedtime Story for Calm App (EXCLUSIVE)

Getty lawsuit against Stability AI to go to trial in the UK

The Business and Property Courts of England and Wales under the High Court of Justice ruled on Friday, determining Getty’s claim that the startup used its copyrighted library of images to train the Stable Diffusion model should be investigated further. Stability argued the case should not be heard in a UK court because it said no one involved in the training or development of Stable Diffusion was based in the UK.

Source: Getty lawsuit against Stability AI to go to trial in the UK

Is Spotify Leaving Uruguay? Not if Lacalle Pou Can Help It

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou says he is in talks with Spotify to prevent the music streaming giant from leaving the country. Spotify announced it would cease service in Uruguay in February 2024 following the passage of a new music copyright bill requiring “fair and equitable remuneration” for authors, composers, performers, and artists in the country. “We are in talks. Let’s go ahead, I hope we are going to agree,” Lacalle Pou said in comments made to local press.

Source: Is Spotify Leaving Uruguay? Not if Lacalle Pou Can Help It

Google Strikes $100M Online News Sharing Deal With Canada After Standoff

The agreement for Google to make an annual payment of $100 million follows Canada passing into law Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, to compel U.S. digital giants to negotiate commercial licensing deals with Canadian publishers for their local platforms. The agreement leaves Meta as a U.S. digital tech holdout in choosing not to pay local publishers for news snippets repurposed on its local Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Source: Google Strikes $100M Online News Sharing Deal With Canada After Standoff

Sony Music has issued nearly 10,000 deepfake takedowns: Kooker

On Wednesday (November 29), US Senate Majority LeaderChuck Schumer held an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Insight Forum to discuss the importance and role of creative copyright and intellectual property in the development of AI. Dennis Kooker, Sony Music Entertainment‘s President of Global Digital Business & US Sales, delivered a speech at the Forum, outlining the major music company’s position on AI and copyright law.

Source: Sony Music has issued nearly 10,000 deepfake takedowns… and other things we learned from Dennis Kooker’s speech about AI

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