When online journal subscriptions became pervasive in the academic marketplace in the late 1990s, the licensing process was initially inconsistent, cumbersome, and time-consuming. Each license was a bespoke agreement. Even after pricing and business conditions were settled, legal teams from both the publisher and the subscribing library engaged in extensive negotiations over contract specifics. This slow, intricate and expensive process did not scale effectively across numerous publishers, products, and libraries.
Key ex-OpenAI researcher subpoenaed in AI copyright case
GPT architect Alec Radford has been subpoenaed in a copyright case against OpenAI, according to a court filing. Radford, who left OpenAI late last year to pursue independent research, was the lead author of OpenAI’s seminal research paper on generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs). GPTs underpin OpenAI’s most popular products, including the company’s AI-powered chatbot platform, ChatGPT.
Source: Key ex-OpenAI researcher subpoenaed in AI copyright case | TechCrunch
Anthropic Raises $3.5 Billion to Develop Next-Generation AI Systems
Anthropic raised $3.5 billion in a Series E funding round to expand its artificial intelligence offerings. “With this investment, Anthropic will advance its development of next-generation AI systems, expand its compute capacity, deepen its research in mechanistic interpretability and alignment,” the company said in a Monday (March 3) press release. The round gave Anthropic a post-money valuation of $61.5 billion, according to the release.
Source: Anthropic Raises $3.5 Billion to Develop Next-Generation AI Systems | PYMNTS.com
Ron Wyden Presses FTC For Disclosure Rules On Ownership Rights Of Digital Purchases
Sen. Wyden (D-Oregon) wants the guidance to include how long a license lasts, what circumstances might expire or revoke the license, and if a consumer can transfer or resell the license. The letter also calls for the information “before and at the point of sale” in a way that’s easily understandable. “To put it simply, prior to agreeing to any transaction, consumers should understand what they are paying for and what is guaranteed after the sale,” Wyden says.
Source: Ron Wyden Presses FTC For Disclosure Rules On Ownership Rights Of Digital Purchases
Podcastle launches a text-to-speech model with more than 450 AI voices
Podcast recording and editing platform Podcastle is now joining other companies in the AI-powered, text-to-speech race by releasing its own AI model called Asyncflow v1.0. Thanks to the new model, the company is able to offer more than 450 AI voices that can narrate your text. The startup said that it developed the technology and model in such a way that its training and inference costs are low, giving it an advantage against competitors.
Sony Music, DNS Capital lead $16m funding round for AI licensing platform Vermillio
An AI “licensing and protection” platform called Vermillio has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Sony Music Entertainment and DNS Capital. Vermillio said on Monday (March 3) that it plans to use the funds to scale its operations and continue “building out solutions for a generative AI internet that enables talent, studios, record labels, and more to protect and monetize their content”.
Source: Sony Music, DNS Capital lead $16m Series A funding round for AI licensing platform Vermillio
UK unions call for action to protect creative industry workers as AI develops
Action is needed to protect workers in creative industries amid huge changes in technology and artificial intelligence, unions have urged. The TUC said there was an urgent need to put in place “proper guardrails” for workers ranging from artists, writers and journalists to teachers and academics. The union organisation said government proposals for copyright and an AI framework, which are under consultation, needed to go further to protect creative workers.
Source: UK unions call for action to protect creative industry workers as AI develops
$500m-valued Suno has admitted training AI on copyrighted music.
The platform’s controversial reputation in the music industry doesn’t seem to have prevented tech giant Amazon– owner of Spotify rival Amazon Music– from partnering with it. Amazon has unveiled a new AI-powered version of its Alexa voice assistant, and among the capabilities of the “next-generation” Alexa+ is an integration with Suno. Amazon’s willingness to do business with AI companies at odds with the music industry isn’t limited to the integration with Suno.
Source: $500m-valued Suno has admitted training AI on copyrighted music.
Snoop Dogg Ditches Spotify After Paltry Royalty Check, Inks Exclusive With Tune.fm
So long, Spotify: Snoop Dogg says he’s “ditching” the streaming service for blockchain-powered competitor Tune.fm, where he’s exclusively released a new single. In no uncertain terms, the longtime crypto enthusiast Snoop Dogg attributed the switch to his allegedly miniscule Spotify royalty payments. And on that front, the rap mainstay said he’d pocketed only $45,000 or so from a staggering one billion Spotify streams.
Source: Snoop Dogg Ditches Spotify After Paltry Royalty Check, Inks Exclusive With Tune.fm
Tech Companies Battle Transparency Obligation in EU AI Act
One of the most divisive aspects of the law concerns transparency in the crucial upstream phase, requiring AI companies to notify rightsholders when their works are being used as training data for the algorithms of their generative AI systems. That notification obligation — the implementation of which is still up in the air but is due to kick in on Aug. 2 — is the crux of the battle for rightsholders seeking compensation and new revenue streams.