3 Count: Evil Genie

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1: Government Urges Supreme Court to Deny AI Copyright Case, Emphasizing Narrow Question and Statutory Text

First off today, Dennis Crouch at Patently-O reports that the US government has filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to deny cert in a case involving the copyright ability of AI art.

The case pits computer scientist Stephen Thaler against the United States Copyright Office (USCO). Thaler attempted to register a piece of AI-generated artwork entitled A Recent Entrance to Paradise but was denied on the grounds that it was not created by a human and only humans can hold copyright.

That decision was upheld by a lower court and an appeals court. Now Thaler is attempting to have the Supreme Court take up the case, but the Solicitor General has filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to not take up the case, citing clear language in the law.

2: Danish Students Face Legal Action and Fines Over Textbook Piracy

Next up today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that the Danish anti-piracy group, the Rights Alliance, has announced it will begin filing civil lawsuits against against individual students who pirate textbooks.

According to a recent study, more than half the students in the country obtained at least one textbook illegally,. The Rights Alliance has a history of targeting pirate sites, but has typically not taken action against individual students.

However, that is set to change with the organization announcing that it will file civil lawsuits against individuals who share textbooks illegally. These cases are expected to see hundreds of dollars per damage, with the exact amount depending on how many books are shared. The organization did not reveal how many students it plans on targeting or what platforms it is monitoring.

3: Google’s Project Genie AI Game Creation Tool Is Already Sparking Copyright Takedowns

Finally today, Leah J. Williams at Screenhub reports that Google’s new AI game creation tool is sparking copyright controversy as it allows users to create video games based around popular characters, worlds and other intellectual property.

Named Project Genie, Google’s new AI tool lets users create game worlds based on text prompts. However, the tool doesn’t appear to have any guardrails to keep it from making worlds based on copyright-protected characters. Users have already created such games from characters like Link, Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.

While the games are being made, some are also being removed. Though it’s unclear why, it’s assumed that copyright holders are filing notices to get the infringing generated games removed.

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