3 Count: A Song of Ice and AI

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1: ChatGPT Came up With a ‘Game of Thrones’ Sequel Idea. Now, a Judge Is Letting George RR Martin Sue for Copyright Infringement

First off today, Jacob Shamsian at Business Insider reports that a federal judge has allowed author George RR Martin to move forward with his claim that ChatGPT infringed on his unfinished A Song of Ice and Fire series by generating an unauthorized sequel to his latest book.

The lawsuit is part of a larger case that combines multiple author class-action lawsuits. They allege that OpenAI and Microsoft infringed their copyrights by training AI models on their work without permission and enabling “outputs” that resembled their work.

Martin had argued that ChatGPT had infringed his copyright by generating the unauthorized sequel. The judge is allowing that argument to move forward, but said he would weigh in on the fair use question later.

2: Swiss Lawmakers Back Media Copyright Fees for Digital Giants

Next up today, SWI reports that, in Switzerland, the House of Representatives Committee for Transport and Telecommunications has referred a new ancillary copyright bill back to the government, calling for AI-specific regulation.

The bill would require online companies such as Google and X (formerly Twitter) to pay media companies when using thumbnails, summaries and other elements in their online services. This would make it similar to other countries, such as the EU, that have passed similar bills.

However, though the committee supports the ancillary copyright bill itself, it is sending the bill back to the government, saying it needs to address issues raised specifically by artificial intelligence.

3: Photographer Sues Rice After Coffeehouse Uses Copyrighted Muffin Photo

Finally, today, Noah Berz at the Rice Thresher reports that photographer Meggan Hill has filed a copyright lawsuit against Rice University, alleging infringement of a photo that she took and uploaded to her website.

The photo at issue was one of a blueberry muffin that she included with a recipe she shared on her website. According to the lawsuit, Rice Coffeehouse used the photo without permission to advertise on both its website and social media.

Hill claims that she repeatedly tried to resolve the issue but never heard back from the university. As such, she filed the lawsuit alleging copyright infringement. She is seeking damages, as well as any profits derived from the use of her image.

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