3 Count: Trial Bound AI

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1: Thomson Reuters AI Copyright Dispute Must Go to trial, Judge Says

First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that a judge has denied a summary judgement motion in a case involving artificial intelligence, setting the stage for a likely trial down the road.

The lawsuit was filed by Thomson Reuters, who owns the legal research service Westlaw. They accused AI company Ross Intelligence of unlawfully using their headnotes, which are curated summaries of legal cases, to train an AI system that was intended to be a competitor to Westlaw.

Ross attempted to argue that what they did was fair use and claims that it shut down its platform in 2021, citing the cost of litigation. However, the judge in the case said that the issue of fair use was one for the jury, denying aside the motion and setting the stage for a trial. No trial date has been set.

2: ‘Let’s Get It On’ Co-Writer’s Family Drops Appeal of Ed Sheeran Copyright Case

Next up today, Aaron Katersky at ABC News reports that the estate of Ed Townsend, one of the co-authors of the Marvin Gaye song Let’s Get it On, has dropped his appeal in his case against Ed Sheeran, letting the lower court ruling stand.

The lawsuit was filed in 2016 by the estate of Ed Townsend, who claimed that Sheeran’s 2014 song Thinking Out Loud was an infringement of the 1973 hit Let’s Get it On, which Townsend co-wrote along with Marvin Gaye. However, the jury in the case sided with Sheeran, prompting the estate to file an appeal.

However, they have now dropped that appeal. No reason was given for the withdrawal. This brings the case to an end and allows the jury verdict to stand.

3: Getty is Going to Offer AI-Generated Images After All

Finally today, Devindra Hardawar at Engadget reports that Getty Images has announced the launch of its own generative image AI tool, one that it says is trained only on licensed images and is safe to use for business purposes.

Last year, Getty made headlines for banning AI art from its catalog, saying that there were copyright and quality issues with generated images. It has also filed lawsuits against Stability AI, the makers of the Stable Diffusion image generator, for allegedly infringing Getty-licensed works.

Now Getty is announcing the launch of its own generative AI service, but one that is trained solely on images that they have the license too. Furthermore, they say that generated images will not be put into the Getty library, avoiding problems when an AI is trained on its own output. As such, the company is offering indemnification for those that use the platform, meaning that they will cover legal costs should any arise from using the service.

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