3 Count: Old Town Photos

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1: Ed Sheeran Urges US Supreme Court to Reject Appeal of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Copyright Case

First, today, Daniel Tencer at Music Business Worldwide reports that Ed Sheeran’s lawyers have filed a brief with the US Supreme Court asking it to reject an appeal over his song Thinking Out Loud.

Structured Asset Sales (SAS) filed the lawsuit in 2018. They alleged that Sheeran’s hit song infringed on the 1973 Marvin Gaye track Let’s Get It On. However, in 2023, the district court dismissed the case on summary judgment, a decision upheld in November 2024 by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

SAS has now petitioned the Supreme Court to take up the case. However, Sheeran’s lawyers are asking the court not to, saying that it could lead to “rampant” speculative lawsuits if they did. The court will likely render a decision in the coming months.

2: Government Defeated for Third Time in Lords Over Copyright Protection Against AI

Next up today, Abbie Llewelyn at The Independent reports that, in the UK, the House of Lords has once again voted in favor of an amendment that would require AI companies to disclose whose work they have trained their systems on. This sends the matter back, once again, to the House of Commons.

The UK government has been working on a controversial AI bill that would grant broad copyright exemptions for AI training. However, the House of Lords has repeatedly attempted to modify the legislation with a transparency requirement, which would make it easier for rightsholders to opt out.

The House of Commons recently rejected this amendment. Using its financial powers, the House of Commons said there was no funding for such an amendment. This prompted the House of Lords to pass it again, with even a bigger margin of victory.

3: Lil Nas X Beats Copyright Lawsuit Claiming He Stole Instagram Poses: ‘Almost Nothing In Common’

Finally today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed a case filed against musician Lil Nas X over a series of photos the rapper appeared in.

Photographer and artist Rodney Woodland filed the lawsuit in June 2022. He alleged that Lil Nas X infringed on 11 of his images by taking new photos in similar poses. However, the lower court ruled that Lil Nas X’s images were not infringing as the similar elements, including the posing and rough composition, were not protectable.

The Appeals Court has upheld that decision. However, it dealt another blow, saying that there was no evidence Lil Nas X had seen the original images. Woodland had argued that the images were available on social media, namely Instagram, meaning that he could have seen them at any time. The Appeals Court rejected that argument.

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