3 Count: Termination Expansion

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1: Investors Sue Adobe Execs Over AI Copyright Statements

First off today, Carly Nairn at Courthouse News Service reports that investors have filed a lawsuit against Adobe alleging that the company did not properly disclose its prioritization of artificial intelligence (AI) and the risks that came with it.

According to the lawsuit, in 2024 and 2025, Adobe made several “false and misleading statements” about its AI strategy. Specifically, they call out statements that Adobe did not infringe on any copyrights in training its AI models, even though the company used datasets that contained hundreds of thousands of copyright-protected books.

After a lawsuit filed against Adobe over the use of the books, Adobe’s stock fell 7%, harming shareholder value. The shareholders allege that this is a violation of the company’s fiduciary duty to shareholders. Adobe has not commented on the lawsuit.

2: Copyright Lawsuit Against Meta Over Eminem Songs to Proceed on Direct Infringement Claim – With Up to $109M at Stake

Next up today, Murray Stassen at Music Business Worldwide reports that a judge has narrowed the scope of a lawsuit filed by Eight Mile Style against Meta. However, even after the narrowing, the core components of the lawsuit remain intact.

Eight Mile Style is the co-publisher of much of Eminem’s music. According to the judge, the plaintiffs had done enough to allow four of the claims to proceed. Those claims centered around direct infringement and whether Meta stored and distributed the songs even after failing to reach a licensing agreement.

Other claims around alleged inducement and contributory copyright infringement were dismissed. In dismissing those counts, the court heavily cited the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Cox v. Sony case, which found that the ISP did not have a secondary liability for copyright infringement despite its failure to terminate repeat infringers. 

3: ‘Chaos Benefits No One’: Major Labels Ask Supreme Court to Overturn ‘Disruptive’ Copyright Ruling

Finally today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that the major labels have asked the Supreme Court to overturn a Fifth Circuit decision that applied copyright termination rules internationally, rejecting a long-standing precedent on that issue.

Copyright termination is a legal doctrine in the United States that allows original creators of copyrighted work to regain control of their copyright after a certain period of time. This includes copyright transfers and exclusive licenses that were granted decades prior. 

However, the Fifth Circuit recently ruled that copyright termination rules do not just apply to US rights, but to international rights as well. According to the record labels, this risks creating “chaos” in the music industry. As such, they are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Fifth Circuit’s decision and address the differing rulings on the issue.

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