3 Count: Queen and Country

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1: Pulitzer-Winning Authors Join OpenAI, Microsoft Copyright Lawsuit

First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that a group of 11 nonfiction authors have joined a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the companies violated their works when creating AI their respective AI systems.

The class action lawsuit was originally filed by Hollywood Reporter editor Julian Sancton. It alleges that OpenAI and Microsoft colluded to train AI systems, most notably ChatGPT, off copyright-protected books, constituting a copyright infringement.

Now, eleven more authors have joined the lawsuit, including the three who co-wrote the J. Robert Oppenheimer biography American Prometheus. The book was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2006 and was the basis of the recent movie Oppenheimer.

2: ‘People’s Joker,’ Queer Comic Book Parody Pulled From TIFF Over Copyright Issues, Sets U.S. Release

Next up today, Rebecca Rubin at Variety reports that film distributor Altered Innocence has acquired the distribution rights to The People’s Joker, a film that had previously been pulled from screenings over copyright concerns.

The film is described as a “a queer comic book parody” of The Batman universe. DC Comics, who hold the right to the universe and its characters, has never commented publicly on the film. The dark comedy has a title card highlighting that it is a parody and that the film is not authorized by DC Comics or any of the other rightsholders.

However, in 2022, the filmmaker canceled planned screenings, citing copyright concerns. But, with the new deal, the film is slated to be released in theaters on April 5, 2024. DC Comics has still not commented on the film.

3: Brian May Apologizes After Fans Say Their Queen Concert Videos Were Deleted for Copyright

Finally today, Daniela Avila at People reports that Brian May, the guitarist for the band Queen, has said he is asking his management to look into allegations that Universal Music has been filing copyright notices against YouTube uploads of a recent concert tour.

The announcement came in the form of a post on Instagram. There, a user named Katya N claimed that they had uploaded an image claiming that they had received a copyright strike on a video they recorded of the recent Queen and Adam Lambert concert tour.

In his post, May made it clear that the decision did not come from him or the band, and he hopes that he’ll get answers as to why they were removed soon. He apologized for Universal “Suddenly becoming so Draconian” and lamented that “good folks of good intentions have been put in this position.”

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