3 Count: Wrong Arguments

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1: Meta Wins AI Copyright Lawsuit as US Judge Rules Against Authors

First off today, Dan Milmo at The Guardian reports that Meta has won a lawsuit over its AI training practices. However, the case is not a major win for AI companies more broadly.

A group of authors, including Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, filed the lawsuit. They alleged that Meta unlawfully used their works to train AI systems. However, the judge in the case granted Meta summary judgment, ruling that, based on the arguments presented, the plaintiffs had not proven their case.

However, the judge warned that using copyright-protected works to train AI systems would be unlawful in “many circumstances.” Instead, the judge stated that the plaintiffs presented the “wrong arguments” and failed to provide evidence supporting the correct one. This decision follows a similar victory for Anthropic, which found AI training to be legal but the “central library” of training information to be infringing.

2: Snoop Dogg Settles Alleged Copyright Infringement Case Over “BODR” Backing Tracks

Next up today, Caroline Fisher at HotNewHipHop reports that Snoop Dogg has settled a lawsuit over backing tracks used on his 2022 album BODR.

Musician Trevor Lawrence Jr. filed the lawsuit last summer. He alleged that Snoop had failed to clear the backing tracks for two songs on the album. He claims to have created the tracks for Snoop to “experiment” with in the studio, but not to publish.

Snoop denied any wrongdoing, stating that Lawrence had been paid a producer fee prior to the album’s release. However, a settlement has now been reached, although the details have not been made public. Both sides filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit yesterday.

3: Udio, Still Battling Copyright Lawsuit From Music Majors, Launches AI ‘Visual Editing Workstation’

Finally today, Mandy Dalugdug at Music Business Worldwide reports that AI music startup Udio has launched a new editing workstation for AI-generated music.

The new tool, entitled Sessions, enables users to move, extend, or replace sections within tracks. It represents a major expansion of Udio’s offerings, but it comes at an unusual time for the company.

Currently, Udio is facing lawsuits from all three major record labels, alleging that it trained its AI system on copyrighted sound recordings. Udio has argued that the training is protected under the doctrine of fair use.

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