3 Count: Come Together

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1: Dave Franco & Alison Brie Accused Of Copyright Infringement In ‘Together’ Suit

First off today, Matt Grobar at Deadline reports that Dave Franco and Alison Brie are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over their recent film Together.

StudioFest, the production company of writer/director Patrick Henry Phelan, filed the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Together is a copyright infringement of the 2023 independent film Better Half. According to the lawsuit, Phelan pitched Better Half to Franco and Brie in August 2020. Both films feature a couple that find themselves being fused together as a metaphor for codependency.

The lawsuit names Franco and Brie, WME, Together‘s distributor, Neon, and others connected with the movie as defendants. In a statement, WME said the lawsuit had no merit. StudioFest is seeking damages and an injunction against the film.

2: The Estate of Multi-Platinum Recording Artist Mo3 Wins Big in Jury Verdict for Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Former Sound Engineer

Next up today, a press release announces that the estate of Melvin Noble Jr, better known as Mo3, secured a jury verdict in their favor in a lawsuit against a former sound engineer.

The story began shortly after the rapper’s death in 2020. The estate alleged that Ray Gene Bollin withheld unreleased vocal tracks and material from it. This prompted a lawsuit in August 2023, which went before a jury.

The jury sided with the estate, awarding damages and cancelling copyright registrations filed by Bollin over the works in question. Bollin had claimed to be a co-author of the tracks at issue, a claim that the estate denied.

3: Anthropic Expert Accused of Using AI-Fabricated Source in Copyright Case

Finally, today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that a federal judge has asked the artificial intelligence company Anthropic to answer a claim that it submitted a filing containing an AI hallucination in its case.

A collection of record labels filed the lawsuit, alleging that Anthropic illegally used their music to train various AI systems. The case is ongoing, but Anthropic’s recent filing drew the attention of the plaintiffs and the judge by citing an academic article that doesn’t exist.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the error was not likely intentional, but the result of misusing AI systems, which are prone to “hallucinating” sources. However, Anthropic claims it was simply a citation mistake and that the article is genuine.

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