3 Count: Her Not Her

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1: Scarlett Johansson’s AI Legal Threat Sets Stage for Actors’ Battle With Tech Giants

First off today, Winston Cho at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that actress Scarlett Johansson has threatened legal action against OpenAI, claiming that the company unlawfully imitated her voice when creating a new AI assistant.

According to Johannson, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman approached her about using her voice for the new “Sky” system. She declined. However, Johannson claims that the system continued to use a voice similar to hers, so close that “my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference.”

She further claims that the similarities were not accidental. She noted that Altman tweeted about the film Her, in which she played the voice of an AI assistant. OpenAI has since dropped Sky, though it is unclear if that is enough to avoid potential litigation.

2: Cox Sues Insurers for Failing to Cover Landmark Piracy Lawsuit

Next up today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that Cox Communications has filed a lawsuit against two of its insurance providers, alleging that they failed to pay out after the ISP was forced to settle a key copyright case.

The case involved BMG, which accused Cox of failing to take adequate action to prevent piracy on its network. They were particularly concerned about Cox’s lack of a repeat infringer policy. A court sided with BMG and awarded $25 million in damages and $8.5 million in costs. Cox appealed, but the case was quickly settled soon thereafter.

Cox had hoped that two of its insurers, Hiscox and ACE American Insurance, would pay for the claim. However, the two companies did not do so, and the sides have not reached an agreement on the issue. As such, Cox has filed the lawsuit to compel the companies to pay for both their legal costs and the settlement fees.

3: NMPA Calls on Congress for Copyright Act Overhaul Amid Spotify Battle Over Bundling

Finally, today, Kristin Robinson at Billboard reports that the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMMPA) has sent a letter to the Judiciary Committees in both the US House and Senate asking for an overhaul of statutory licenses under the Copyright Act.

Under the Copyright Act, mechanical royalties, which are paid when a composition is used in a song that is copied or streamed, have a statutory license. According to publishers, this makes negotiating a fair market rate for these licenses impossible.

The NMPA is now arguing that it is time to abolish the 100-year-old system and open up free market negotiations of mechanical royalties. The NMPA further notes that record labels, which represent sound recordings, have no such limitations when negotiating their terms.

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