3 Count: Red War Advance

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: Judge in Meta Case Warns AI Could ‘Obliterate’ Market for Original Works

First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that a federal judge questioned Meta’s AI arguments, saying that AI could “obliterate” the market for human-created and copyright-protected work.

Meta, like many companies, is facing lawsuits over its use of copyright-protected work to train AI systems. The company claims that the principle of fair use protects their usage. However, part of the fair use test is the impact on the potential market for the allegedly infringed work. That, in turn, is what the judge is responding to.

The judge did acknowledge that the use may be transformative, another element of the fair use test. However, the judge said that, even with that, it may still not be fair use. The judge also asked lawyers for the authors to prove that AI-generated work may harm the the market for human-created works.

2: Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Over Destiny 2’s Red War Narrative Is Allowed to Proceed

Next up today, Chris Neal at Massively Overpowered reports that author Matthew Martineau has won a victory in his lawsuit against video game maker Bungie as a judge is allowing his case to move forward.

Martineau sued Bungie, alleging that the game Destiny 2 contained a narrative, entitled Red War, that was an infringement of an earlier book he had written. Bungie attempted to have the case tossed, saying that the allegations were too vague. The company provided wiki pages as evidence to bolster their case.

However, that evidence may have hurt them. Since the evidence was not created by Bungie, the judge dismissed it as inauthentic. Noting that Martineau had established enough in his case to move things forward, the judge denied the motion to dismiss, allowing the case to continue.

3: 1,000 AI-Enhanced Works Now Protected by US Copyright Law

Finally, today, Will McCurdy of PC Magazine reports that the United States Copyright Office (USCO) has registered over 1,000 works containing AI-generated material.

The USCO has repeatedly refused to grant registrations for wholly AI-generated works. However, works that mix AI and human input have been eligible for registration, as long as the AI component is disclosed and not part of the registration.

As such, songs, books, artwork, and films made with the aid of AI are eligible for registration, and over 1,000 have. However, according to the USCO, the AI elements do not qualify for copyright protection, even though the human-created elements do.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.