Much of the focus on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has been on training data ingestion—the moment when AI “steals” from creators. But legally, that’s not where the real fight should be. No new formulation of copyright law by Congress, as suggested by some academics, is necessary. By considering these seven unique aspects of GenAI systems, copyright analysis is actually easy.
Source: The Question of AI and Copyright Infringement is Actually an Easy One
Back in November, Napster’s $3 billion funding apparently fell through, leaving the music streaming platform’s future uncertain. Now, the company has abruptly shuttered its music streaming capabilities—while users were actively using the service—in its broader pivot to AI assistants. The pivot into AI isn’t unexpected—the brand was purchased by AI company Infinite Reality last year—but for users of the music streaming service, to call it jarring is an understatement.
Source: Napster Music Streaming Service Abruptly Shuts Down, Pivots to AI
This latest indication of a protracted courtroom confrontation arrived in the form of a signed-and-sealed confidentiality order. Just recently approved by the magistrate judge, the modified order will afford both sides quite a bit of discretion to block the public disclosure of potentially sensitive discovery materials. Then there’s a distinct “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” designation for particularly sensitive documents, besides, among others, a “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – SOURCE CODE” option.
Source: Legal Paperwork Flies in Intensifying Universal Music v. Suno Suit
The Trump administration warned it may impose fees and restrictions on European companies operating in the US, including Spotify, if the European Union continues enforcing “discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives” against American service providers. The Office of the US Trade Representative issued the threat earlier this week, naming nine European companies that could face retaliation:
Source: Trump administration threatens Spotify, other EU firms over ‘discriminatory’ EU enforcement action
In November 2025, the English High Court delivered judgment in Getty Images (US) Inc & Others v Stability AI Ltd EWHC 2863 (Ch). This is the first UK decision to directly address whether generative AI models constitute infringing copies under English copyright law when trained on copyrighted material.
Source: RDJ LLP | AI Model Training on Trial: Getty Images v Stability AI…
Anna’s Archive, the shadow library best known for making pirated ebooks and academic papers searchable, announced this weekend what might be the largest music piracy operation in history: “We backed up Spotify.” The group claims it scraped 86 million audio files from Spotify, representing 99.6% of everything people actually listen to on the platform. Total size: just under 300 terabytes, distributed through bulk torrents.
Source: Shadow ‘Archive’ Says It Copied Virtually All of Spotify’s Music – Decrypt
Google Search has reached a staggering new DMCA takedown milestone, processing over five billion copyright removal requests in 2025. Driven by a massive automated reporting spike, mostly from Link-Busters, the total all-time count has now eclipsed 15.8 billion. Not all reported URLs are actually removed, however. In fact, many were not even indexed by Google to begin with, which is another side effect of the ‘bot war’.
Source: A DMCA “Bot War”: Google Search Processed 5 Billion Takedown Requests in 2025 * TorrentFreak
Facebook is testing a system that charges users for sharing web links, in a move that could prove to be a further blow to news outlets and other publishers. Meta, the social media platform’s owner, said it is carrying out a “limited test” in which those without a paid Meta Verified subscription, costing at least £9.99 a month, can only post two external links a month.
Source: Facebook tests charging users to share links in potential blow for news outlets
The free lunch will come to an end for artificial intelligence in 2026. Over the past decade, developers from Google to Alibaba have largely been helping themselves to the internet buffet, devouring copyrighted material without permission or payment. Make no mistake, however: the bill is coming soon. Consider it AI’s Napster moment.
ASCAP is facing a lawsuit claiming it “severely underpays” for so-called production music used by talk and sports radio stations, wrongfully withholding more than $120 million in royalties from their rightful owners. The case claims ASCAP’s policies pay out royalties for only a fraction of the actual performances of such songs, which often play on news, talk or sports radio programs as background music or during segment transitions.
Source: ASCAP Faces $123M Lawsuit Over Production Music on News Radio: ‘Financially Devastating’