The leading AIs from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic essentially teach themselves from the ground up with huge amounts of raw data—a process that typically takes many months and tens of millions of dollars or more. By drawing on the results of such work, distillation can create a model that is almost as good in a matter of weeks or even days, for substantially less money.
Source: Why ‘Distillation’ Has Become the Scariest Word for AI Companies
As of Feb. 2, the first few requirements of the E.U. AI Act are now legally binding, and businesses operating in the region that do not abide by them are at risk of a fine. The next milestone for the AI Act will come at the end of April, when the European Commission will likely publish the final Code of Practice for General Purpose AI Models, according to Rulf. The code will become effective in August, as will the powers of member state supervisory authorities for enforcing the Act.
Source: EU AI Act: First Requirements Become Legally Binding
DeepSeek’s emergence is changing the landscape for AI, offering companies access to the technology at a fraction of the cost, according to interviews with more than a dozen startup executives and investors. It also has the potential to push other AI companies to improve their models and bring down prices. Europe’s tech startups had struggled to adopt the new technology at the same rate as U.S. rivals, which have easier access to funding.Source: DeepSeek gives Europe’s tech firms a chance to catch up in global AI race
The legal team for the MLC has stated that it is ‘evaluating all options’ including a potential appeal of Spotify’s bundling court victory. Spotify’s bundling of audiobooks into its Premium Individual, Duo, and Family subscription plans are at the heart of the issue. Applying the rate formula applicable to bundled subscription offerings resulted in a reduction of the service provider revenue that Spotify reports, resulting in an underpayment of royalties.
Source: The MLC Is ‘Evaluating All Available Options’ Including An Appeal
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
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.
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
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
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
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.