Abandon AI copyright exemption to protect UK creative industries, MPs say

In its second report on connected technology, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee warns that the Government’s original plan to exempt text and data mining by AI from copyright protection risks reducing arts and cultural production to mere ‘inputs’ in AI development and shows a clear lack of understanding of the needs of the UK’s creative industries.

Source: Abandon AI copyright exemption to protect UK creative industries, MPs say

AI Startup Buzz Is Facing a Reality Check

Almost a year into the boom ignited by the November launch of ChatGPT, some startups that epitomized the zeal for so-called generative AI are now navigating layoffs and reduced user interest. Investors are unsure whether the new crop of AI startups will be able to survive, especially as tech giants such as Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google solidify their dominance over the technology.

Source: AI Startup Buzz Is Facing a Reality Check

AI Policy ‘Weaknesses’ in UK Put Artists at Risk, MPs Warn 

AI developers must be stopped from freely using music, literature and artwork to train their models, a group of British lawmakers have warned. In a new report, the UK government has been told that it must “rebuild trust” with creative industries and introduce safeguards to ensure their intellectual property isn’t mined for profit.

Source: AI Policy ‘Weaknesses’ in UK Put Artists at Risk, MPs Warn – Decrypt

OpenAI asks court to trim authors’ copyright lawsuits

Microsoft-backed OpenAI took aim at what it called “ancillary” claims in the lawsuits on Monday, telling the court that the text ChatGPT creates does not violate the authors’ rights in their books. OpenAI has also denied the authors’ core allegation that the use of their books to train ChatGPT infringes their copyrights, but it did not ask the court to dismiss those claims on Monday.

Source: OpenAI asks court to trim authors’ copyright lawsuits

Did the SEC Just Declare War on NFTs? 

The SEC has never regulated the art market or the trade of luxury goods. But might the Commission’s current antipathy for crypto-related products coax it to start regulating the sale of NFT-backed art projects, digital collectibles, and membership passes? Was Monday’s action the takedown of a run-of-the-mill securities scheme that only happened to feature NFTs, or a calculated signal that the SEC is coming for the entire NFT market?

Source: Did the SEC Just Declare War on NFTs? – Decrypt

A new creator’s guild aims to protect online content creators 

Content creation is work, but in such a rapidly shifting social media landscape, creators face an uphill battle fighting for fair pay and ownership of  of their content. The CGA, which launched last week, describes itself as a “professional service organization” instead of a labor union. It won’t act as a collective bargaining unit or authorize strikes, but it does offer benefits that are “similar to those offered by unions,” according to its site.

Source: A new creator’s guild aims to protect online content creators | TechCrunch

Photography in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Photographers and their collaborators may find themselves increasingly displaced by artificial intelligence systems that can generate synthetic images at a fraction of the cost without having to pay assignment rates or reimburse travel costs. To add insult to injury, photographers and artists have found that these artificial intelligence systems were trained on their work which was searched out online without their permission.

Source: Photography in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Fox Sports Taps Google Cloud for Generative AI Capabilities

The sports programmer inked an expanded collaboration with Google Cloud to use the internet giant’s generative AI technology. Fox Sports said that by using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI Vision system, it can quickly search footage from more than 1.9 million videos and produce new content “in near real-time” for TV, social and marketing content.

Source: Fox Sports Taps Google Cloud for Generative AI Capabilities

Future Wins Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

On Friday, Judge Martha M. Pacold of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit brought against rapper Future in 2021. The lawsuit claimed that Future’s 2018 track, “What I Think About It,” rips off an earlier song by a little-known Virginia rapper. The judge said in her ruling that the plaintiff was trying to sue over lyrics synonymous with hip-hop.

Source: Future Wins Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

SEC takes first action against an NFT project as an unregistered security

The SEC said the NFTs issued by Impact Theory were unlicensed securities. The company agreed to a cease-and-desist order, paid $6.1 million in penalties, and agreed to destroy all of the NFTs in question still in its control. Impact Theory will also eliminate any royalties that it might have received from sales of those NFTs on secondary markets.

Source: SEC takes first action against an NFT project as an unregistered security

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