Headlines

‘Superman’ Estate Sues Warner Bros. Discovery, DC Comics To Block Release In Key Territories

The estate of Superman creator Joseph Schuster is suing Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Comics alleging that its planned release some key territories is illegal. Plaintiff Mark Warren Peary, executor to the estate, filed the suit in Federal Court in the Southern District of New York seeking “damages and injunctive relief for Defendants’ ongoing infringement in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia.”

Source: ‘Superman’ Estate Sues Warner Bros. Discovery, DC Comics To Block Release In Key Territories

Warner Bros. Discovery strikes JV with Cutting Edge to co-own vast catalog of film & TV music 

Entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery has struck a deal with UK-based Cutting Edge Group to create a JV through which they will co-own and co-manage WBD’s vast catalog of film and TV music. The creation of the JV is claimed to be, “by value, one of the largest music rights deals ever transacted.” The Financial Times reports that the deal is worth more than USD $1 billion.

Source: Warner Bros. Discovery strikes JV with Cutting Edge to co-own vast catalog of film and TV music, in deal worth $1bn+

Google owes UK news industry £2.2bn from 2023 alone, claims new research

New research has suggested UK news publishers are owed £2.2bn by Google for their contribution to the search platform in 2023 alone. The Public Interest News Foundation worked with FehrAdvice to calculate the value of journalism to Google with a survey of 1,484 people which observed their internet browsing habits. Google responded that such studies are “misleading” and have been “debunked”, insisting it makes very little money from news content.

Source: Google owes UK news industry £2.2bn from 2023 alone, claims new research

Online publishing revenue trends: Audio rising, video stalls, data is golden

In a new quarterly series AOP managing director Richard Reeves analyses online publishing industry revenue trends. Five years ago, subscriptions accounted for just 22% of digital publishing revenue, dwarfed by the 42% delivered by display advertising. Today, the gap has narrowed significantly, and subscriptions may soon match or exceed display advertising revenues.

Source: Online publishing revenue trends: Audio rising, video stalls, data is golden

How AI is reshaping copyright law and what it means for the news industry

News organisations have filed several lawsuits accusing AI companies of infringing on their copyright to train their own models. Is the argument so cut and dry? “We haven’t had any court ruling to say that they are violating the law,” says Alina Trapova. “The general feeling in all of these discussions is that there is a violation of copyright. But it has to really go down again to how each individual system works.”

Source: How AI is reshaping copyright law and what it means for the news industry

Bowker Rejoins ISNI Global Identification Effort

The ISNI International Agency, which provides tools to identify millions of contributors of creative works and those active in their distribution, has announced that Bowker, the ISBN services company, has rejoined the community as an ISNI Registration Agency. Bowker’s re-engagement also coincides with the Book Industry Study Group’s efforts to establish a nationwide ISNI workflow in the United States.

Source: Bowker Rejoins ISNI Global Identification Effort

Who Owns AI Output? Why Recent Cases Against OpenAI Could Redefine Copyright

Christopher T. Zirpoli, legislative attorney at the U.S. Congressional Research Service suggests that while AI users might be considered the authors of specific outputs, the creative process behind coding and training AI gives its creators a stronger claim to authorship than a traditional toolmaker. The creative choices involved in coding and training the AI “might give an AI’s creator a stronger claim to some form of authorship than the manufacturer of a camera.”

Source: Who Owns AI Output? Why Recent Cases Against OpenAI Could Redefine Copyright

Bookshop.org challenges Amazon with new e-book platform 

Bookshop.org and Libro.fm have emerged as alternatives to Amazon, sharing a cut of sales with independent bookstores around America. But for e-book readers, it’s been challenging to buy new titles without going through Amazon’s ecosystem. Bookshop.org’s expansion into e-books gives consumers a long-awaited option to buy these digital books while also supporting small businesses.

Source: Bookshop.org challenges Amazon with new e-book platform | TechCrunch

Digital Checkouts Rose 17% at OverDrive

Digital borrowing of e-books, audiobooks, and digital magazines rose to more than 739 million checkouts at the libraries and schools who use OverDrive’s Libby and Sora apps. Some 366.2 million e-books were borrowed last year, the most of any format, but the rate of increase, 7%, was the slowest among all formats.  Downloads of digital audiobook rose 19%, to 278.3 million checkouts.

Source: Digital Checkouts Rose 17% at OverDrive

Copyright Office: Use of AI Tools in Creative Process Does Not Undermine Copryight

The U.S. Copyright Office declared Wednesday that the use of artificial intelligence tools to assist in the creative process does not undermine the copyright of a work. In a 41-page report, the Copyright Office also reiterated that human authorship is essential to copyright, and that merely entering text prompts into an AI system is not enough to claim authorship of the resulting output.

Source: Copyright Office Offers Assurances on AI Filmmaking Tools

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